


Sabotaged Heart

by alatariel_gildaen



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Activism, Alternate Universe - British, Angst, F/M, Masturbation, Masturbation in Shower, Oral Sex, Romance, Sexual Content, sh, vegan!peeta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-06
Updated: 2013-10-08
Packaged: 2017-12-28 14:38:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 82,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/993079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alatariel_gildaen/pseuds/alatariel_gildaen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern day AU. Katniss is an investigative journalist and pro-hunt supporter. Peeta is a member of a hunting sabotage group. What happens when Katniss goes undercover to infiltrate the group and starts to fall for the blond sab?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> A/N - This is a modern AU (the first time I have ever attempted such a thing!) Also I'm afraid this won't be set in America. A) Because I'm not American and don't know anything about life in America and B) these issues are very much English ones.
> 
> The Boxing Day hunts mentioned here in the prologue are very much traditional, and despite the fact that hunting with dogs was made illegal in 2005, these monsters still do it. The general excuse is that they are taking the dogs for a run, and if the dogs happen to come across a fox, it isn't their fault. And the police don't seem interested in putting a stop to this gruesome blood sport. And the brave sabs who try to stop it are often subjugated to abuse and beatings. They are now risking their lives over the badger culls that are taking place and which could decimate the population of these beautiful animals. Sadly we have a long way to go :(
> 
> I don't own the Hunger Games, I'm not Suzanne Collins and I'm not making money.
> 
> This has been on fanfiction net, but they're currently purging M rated stories, so I'm going to reupload it here.

**Boxing Day, Two Years Ago**

"They're gathering now," said the young blond man, watching through binoculars as the forty or so men on horseback surrounded by their pack of dogs came together. He lowered them and took a sip from a steaming thermos of tea that was being proffered by a tall, athletic, bronze haired man.

"Which way are they heading?"

The blond man raised his binoculars once again and inhaled sharply. "Roughly north-east. Have we got anyone stationed that way?"

The athletic man swallowed heavily. "Just Annie."

"Shit." If a fox had gone to ground round that way, there wasn't very much that petite little Annie would be able to do alone, other than get herself trampled.

A crackle of static came from the walkie-talkie in the pocket of his hoodie. He pulled it out while continuing to watch the gathering hunt. "Yeah?" he spoke into it.

"We spotted a fox heading towards the earths," came the crackling voice.

"Do you think they've picked up the scent?"

"Dunno. Doesn't look like it. We sprayed the whole area, but I'd prefer to see them heading in a different direction."

The blond continued to watch as he formulated a plan. "Leave it with me," he spoke in to the walkie-talkie. "We'll draw them this way." He put the walkie-talkie back in his pocket, and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Ok, I'm going to double back round, try and join Annie. Use the Cotswald horn to confuse the dogs, get them away from the riders."

"How about you do that, and I'll get to Annie?"

The blond smiled a knowing smile. "You know I can't get any decent noise out of that thing. I'll make sure she's ok, Finn, so stop worrying."

The taller of the two continued to look worried but nodded. "Look after her, Peet, alright?"

"Don't worry about us. Give me say five minutes before you start to draw the dogs away. See you later, ok?"

He left the taller man alone and began making his way through the woods as quickly as he could. Every now and then he stopped, took a spray out of his pocket and used it to mark a long line along the floor. If any foxes had passed by this way the spray would hopefully mask their scent and make it more difficult for the dogs to pick up the trail.

After a few minutes a horn sounded coming from the direction he had just left. In the distance the dogs started to bark excitedly as the pack tore away from the riders. Finn would know to steer clear of the pack, lead them on false trails, but the riders would not be fooled so easily. It would only take a few minutes for them to realise that the horns calling the dogs away weren't coming from their own kind, but from their saboteuring enemies. They would call the dogs back, Finn would lead them on another trail. Exhausting the dogs would be another line in their defence of the foxes.

It took about a twenty minute hike through the woods to find Annie. She was sat over the entrance to a fox-earth. A last ditch effort to protect the fox that would be cowering for his or her life inside; the hunters wouldn't be able to reach them without going through Annie. About twenty riders were visible through the trees approaching the area. The ploy of driving the dogs in a different direction clearly hadn't worked. The blond man ran to where the petite brunette was sat and joined her, radioing his fellow sabs for help to come and join them.

"Hey Peeta," she said nervously.

"You ok?" he replied.

"Yeah," she said, distracted by the sight and sounds of the approaching riders on horseback.

"You got a camera?" She nodded in response, pulling out a small handheld digital camera. "Good. Scarves on, hoods up, and start filming."

They wrapped their cotton scarves around their mouths and pulled their hoods up to better hide their appearance. Even though it was the hunters and not them who were breaking the law they knew from past experience that it was better to remain as anonymous as possible.

One of the riders broke off from the rest of the pack and headed straight towards where Peeta and Annie were sitting. "You are trespassing."

The hunters would often try tactics such as this to get the sabs to move. Maybe on some of the newer and more inexperienced sabs it would work, but not today. "Nope," responded Peeta, his voice slightly muffled through the scarf. "Under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, we have every right to walk through these woods as we please. You, on the other hand, are breaking the law under the Hunting Act 2004."

"You'll find that difficult to prove."

Peeta shrugged as Annie continued to film. He was right of course. Unless they caught them in the act of actually using the dogs to hunt and kill a wild animal there was very little that the law could do. Even if they did it was unlikely to ever make it to Court. But for the South Suffolk Sab Association the knowledge of saving even just one life was enough reward in itself.

"You want to put the camera away, little girl."

Annie flinched slightly next to Peeta, who put out a reassuring arm around her. "Don't stop," he said. "They can't stop us filming."

"I can and I will. I'll give you one last chance to move out of our way."

"Or what?"

At that moment four other members of the SSSA appeared out of the woods and came to sit with Annie and Peeta in solidarity. The horns being sounded by Finn occasionally blared out in the distance, causing the remaining dogs to bark and howl in confusion.

"You bloody interfering little shits. Don't care about our dogs, do you?"

"More than you, mate," responded Thresh, one of the biggest sabs in the Association. The hunter on horseback shrunk slightly under his intense stare.

"Oh really. That's why you enjoy upsetting them, is it?"

"So what do you do with them when they're no longer useful to you?" Peeta said, his voice becoming heated. "Rehome them all, do you? Or do they get destroyed?"

The mounted man threw a dark look at Peeta then urged his horse forward. The sabs stood their ground, refusing to be moved or intimidated. But the man also refused to back down. He leant in towards Annie, snatching the camera from her grasp. "Give it back," said Annie, adding a tone of courage to her voice that she didn't truly feel. The hunter raised his whip to her but Peeta and the other sabs jumped to their feet and rushed forward to protect her. The movement was too much for the horse to cope with, and she reared up high, dislodging the rider from her back. But Peeta had come in too close to try and protect Annie from the hunter's whip, and had been knocked to the ground as the horse reared. As she came back down Peeta watched in what appeared to be slow motion. He knew he was too close, far too close, but he couldn't seem to move. The horse's front legs came back down to the ground heavily, his own left leg underneath one of them.

At first he heard, rather than felt, the bones snap. Then moments later the pain exploded through him like a grenade. But his first thought wasn't for him. "Get the camera!" he shrieked. Thresh snatched it away from the hunter's grasp, turning it on him and then on to Peeta, showing exactly what the hunter had done before turning it off and pocketing it.

"We need to get him to a hospital," said Thresh. None of the sab group had any signal on their phones this deep in the woods. Peeta watched them with a kind of detached amusement as they tried desperately to get their phones to work. In the end it was decided for Thresh to run towards the edge of the woods until he was able to make a call while the rest of the group stayed with Peeta. Annie held his hand as she radioed Finn to come back and find them. As he waited for the return of his best mate, he looked at the mangled mess that was his broken left leg, and a sickening, dizzying nausea overtook him, darkness descended over his eyes and he knew nothing more.


	2. Chapter 1 - Katniss

**Present Day**

The badger cull had finally been approved. After many protests, petitions against it and after it being debated back and forth in the House of Commons, it had finally been approved.

Katniss Everdeen looked through the files in front of her. Many known members of various animal rights groups would be trying to stop these necessary culls from taking place. Despite the necessity of these culls to prevent the spread of bovine TB, public opinion was still very much against them, and it would seem that many members of the public actually supported the direct action that animal rights groups were threatening. She'd had the idea to expose these groups as deviants; fraudulent and violent hypocrites who would stop at nothing to achieve their aims, and thereby turn public opinion against them, but in order to do so she needed to infiltrate one.

The perfect opportunity looked to be about to present itself. This weekend was the first scheduled cull taking place in Gloucestershire and communications had been intercepted from various sabbing groups who had arranged to meet up to put a stop to the shootings. It would be easy to pretend to be on their side, to gain the trust of one or two of the ringleaders and from there the story would write itself.

Katniss took a sip of her coffee, burning her tongue a little on the volcanic liquid. Of course many of the people she had files on had criminal records for various petty misdemeanours; theft, vandalism, various public disorder offences. "Bloody scroungers," she said to herself as she flicked through the files and looked at the photographs and mugshots. She blew on her coffee and took another sip, careful not to burn herself a second time.

One of the photographs caught her eye. A mugshot of a young blond man, arrested some eight years prior for Breaking and Entering on a farm. Sentenced to eighty hours of community service. Katniss stared at the photo. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn't place her finger on exactly what it was. She swilled the dregs of her coffee around in her cup and knocked it back, all the while studying the face of the young man. According to his file, this man's name was Peeta Mellark. Unusual name. She wondered what his heritage could be with a surname like that. Possibly eastern European? Katniss snorted. An immigrant as well as an animal rights nut? She could go crazy with a story like this. Any number of right leaning papers would pay top money for such a piece.

Still… she wished she could work out exactly what it was about him that seemed so familiar. She checked over his file in more detail. They were about the same age. He was born and raised in East Sussex…. So... surprisingly not an immigrant, then. At least not this generation. She'd have to dig a little deeper, look in to his father's history. But for now... East Sussex...No connection there….. Went to University in Leeds to study for a degree in Fine Art... Again, no connection there. Aged twenty-one moved to Suffolk... Katniss allowed a small frown to crease her brow. Her younger sister was a nurse in a hospital in Suffolk. Despite speaking to her sister on the phone every single day, she rarely got the chance to visit her. In fact, the last time she had been able to visit had been about two years ago; she'd spent Christmas at her sister's house, but her sister had spent much of the holiday working. She hadn't been up to see her since, although her sister came to London whenever she had a spare couple of days off. But other than her sister she had no other connection with Suffolk.

The familiarity of Peeta Mellark's face was driving Katniss crazy. She decided to try and put him out of mind for now and flicked through some of the other files and photos. The usual line-up of scroungers, moochers and other wasters.

But her mind kept drifting back to Peeta. She picked up his file again. As well as the police issued mugshot there were a couple of photos taken from social network sites. One with a group of other hunt saboteurs - the cowards all had their faces hidden but Peeta's piercing blue eyes were unmistakable, one with him bent down and hugging a rather scruffy looking mongrel, a goofy grin plastered over his face as the dog licked his ear and a final one with his arm around a girl with bright red dreadlocks; their cheeks touching each other and the light of love in their eyes.

She felt a surge of annoyance from somewhere and closed the file, slamming it down harder on her desk than she had originally intended, sending a few loose papers flying. She leant back in her chair, lifting the front legs slightly off the ground as she peered at the clock on the wall. Ten minutes to nine. How had she managed to stay this late yet again?

As if her thoughts could be heard out loud, Gale Hawthorne, her usual photographer, appeared leaning in the doorway. "Another late night, Everdeen? Don't you have a home to go to?"

She pushed her fringe back off her face. "What's the point? You know I'll only take all this home with me."

Gale flashed her a winning smile. "You work too hard. Coming for a drink?"

"You buying?"

"But of course."

"Fine. Just one though. I need to get an early start tomorrow." She gathered up all the files and put them in a satchel which she slung over her shoulder.

The Coal Hole was just a few minutes walk away from the office. As it was past 9 o'clock on a Friday night it was already heaving by the time they arrived but thankfully the evenings were starting to get warmer so they were able to take their drinks and sit on the steps outside looking down towards the Embankment. Gale handed Katniss her glass of wine and held his pint up to clink the side of the glass. "Cheers!" he said, knocking back a large swig.

"Cheers," she said in reply.

They sat in contemplative silence a few minutes before Gale broke the silence. "So… what's this new story you're working on then?"

"Don't laugh."

"I won't," he said, his eyes sparkling.

"You will."

"I won't!" he protested.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You better not," she said, before taking a deep breath. "I'm going to try and infiltrate an animal rights group."

A beat of silence before Gale snorted. "You?"

She punched him playfully in the arm. "You promised not to laugh!"

"No I didn't! I never 'promised!'"

"It was implied."

Gale did his best to look apologetic. "Ok, ok, I'm sorry. Please continue."

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment. "Fine. Well, you know the badger culls are going ahead?" Gale nodded but didn't speak. "Well, the first of the culls is happening close to a farm that I grew up near. I know that there's going to be protesters, so I'm going up there to join them. I reckon I could get a great inside story about the criminal aspect of the protesters."

"And you think you'll be able to get in with them?"

"I think so."

Gale took a long slow swig of his pint. "Just be careful, ok Katniss? I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I won't."

"I mean it, Katniss. These bastards don't give a shit about you if you're not covered in fur. If they find you out, they'll hurt you."

Katniss took a large gulp of wine as his words sunk in, then leaned forward conspiratorially. "Then I'll just have to make sure they don't find me out, won't I?"

The humour had left Gale's voice. "Do you want me to join you?"

It was a tempting offer. Gale and Katniss had worked together for many years, having met in college. They had done several undercover reports together. If Katniss could trust anyone to cover her back, it was Gale. She considered his offer carefully before saying, "No. Thanks, but seriously, I think it's best to keep this operation as small as possible. Maybe if I get in with them first I could introduce you later. I'll need some good shots."

Gale nodded and downed half of his remaining pint in one go. "I want you to call or text me every two hours. Let me know you're safe. If I don't hear from you I'm jumping in the car and coming to find you."

"Yes, dad."

"I mean it. Don't joke about this."

"Ok, just quit worrying." Her voice and demeanour were cool and calm, but her insides were beginning to flutter. Gale finished the rest of his drink and offered to buy them both another. The wine was making her head feel fuzzy. She couldn't risk being anything other than perfect in the morning and so declined, quickly finishing her glass.

Gale walked her back to the tube, then bent down and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, squeezing her gently. "Promise me, Katniss. Stay in contact and stay safe, ok?"

"I promise," she replied, squeezing him back before heading through the barriers.

As she sat on the Northern Line, heading home surrounded by drunken revellers, the nerves began to bubble up through her. She was starting to regret her decision to do this alone without Gale at her back. She took a deep breath and swallowed her nerves back down. She could do this, she knew that. She was smarter than they were, and she was not going to get caught.

She finally arrived home at her flat in North Finchley. For the last couple of years she had been promising herself that she would move a little closer to the City, to make work and her commute easier but somehow she had never gotten around to it.

She undressed quickly and pulled on a pair of pyjamas, made a cup of tea, put on the television and sat cross legged on the sofa watching the usual re-runs of old BBC sitcoms. Her mind began to drift to the task in hand tomorrow. She would rise at the crack of dawn, hop in her car and drive up the M40 to Gloucestershire. She prayed that all her research would prove to be correct and that the saboteurs were indeed gathering for a protest. And that if she could indeed find them she prayed that she would be able to work her way into the group undetected.

Her thoughts strayed to the files in her satchel. She wondered how many, if any, of these people she would be encountering. Her mind lingered on the image of the blond haired, blue-eyed Peeta. She still couldn't work out how she knew him. She suddenly experienced a sinking feeling in her stomach. He was a well-known sab and was sure to be amongst the protestors. What if Peeta knew her identity? He would be sure to reveal it to everyone, and her position would surely be compromised.

She determined that she would steer clear of Peeta Mellark until she could work exactly how and why she knew him. Until then, he was a very real danger to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Coal Hole is a real pub on The Strand (One of my favourites in London, thanks to the fact it sells my favourite cider!) And is just a few minutes walk away from Fleet Street, the journalistic capitol of London. So really it would be a kinda perfect pub for Katniss and Gale to drink in don't you think? Only realised this sweet little coincidence as I was writing it :)


	3. Chapter 2 - Katniss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are on tumblr check out everlart's blog. She does wonderful fanarts of Everlark stories, and I'm really honoured that she chose a scene from this chapter to draw :)

How was it possible for there to be this much traffic this early in the morning? The M25 was at a standstill, and Katniss still had another twenty three miles before she could exit for the M40. She clutched her service station coffee in one hand and turned the radio up, hoping for any kind of traffic announcement that may indicate this hectic traffic would be about to clear up.

She hoped that she was dressed appropriately; she usually dressed smart and sensible, her long hair tied back and out of the way, but if she was going to convince the scroungers she was one of them she couldn't head up to a protest dressed in her usual office attire. She'd tied her hair in a loose braid over one shoulder, and had found her oldest, baggiest jeans, coupling them with a pair of scruffy Doc Martens and a Pearl Jam t-shirt she'd found in a charity shop. She had looked in the mirror before leaving and barely recognised herself.

She was still unsure of how she would ingratiate herself in with the ringleaders. For now her plan was simply to show up as a 'concerned member of the public' wanting to help. By observing them she hoped to figure out who was a likely target to get close to.

The sun had risen and the sky was incredibly blue already. Katniss sighed. All last night her dreams had been punctuated with images of bright blue eyes. She couldn't get Peeta Mellark out of her mind. She knew she had seen him somewhere before, she just knew it. She thought back over her previous scoops; she certainly hadn't encountered him in any of the other shady rings of people she had exposed. He wasn't involved in human trafficking or drug dealings or gang warfare…. So who was he?

She emptied the last of her coffee down her throat, throwing the empty paper cup in to the passenger footwell. Katniss was generally a neat and tidy person at home, but her car was a completely different story. Gale always took the piss out of the state of her car, and had even started arming himself with a plastic bag to clear away the empty coffee cups, chocolate wrappers and sandwich packets from the passenger side before going on any journeys with her.

It was already nearing half seven, and according to the sat nav Katniss still had about two hours worth of driving to do. And that would be on clear roads. She huffed impatiently. God only knew what time she would finally arrive.

She tried to force her brain to switch off, turning the radio up even higher until finally the traffic started to flow a little quicker. As always on this ridiculous excuse for a road, there seemed to be no reason for the slowness of traffic, and the speed picked up and picked up until she was finally able to reach the M40.

She pulled off at the nearest service station, already feeling the effects of the caffeine from her previous coffee beginning to wane. Her stomach gnawed at her; when she left the house first thing it had been far too early for food but she had to eat before completing the final leg of the journey. She ordered a completely over-priced vanilla latte and an all-day breakfast panini from Starbucks and sat down at one of the plastic Formica tables. Pulling some of her files from her leather satchel, she began to read once more.

The initial cull looked at shooting around five thousand badgers, and if proven effective in controlling bovine TB, up to a hundred thousand badgers could be legally shot as part of the cull. To Katniss' eye this seemed reasonable. A shooting was a swift and painless death if carried out efficiently. Would these animal rights nuts prefer the cows to suffer with TB? Just more indication of their blatant hypocrisy.

She wondered vaguely if, once she was done with this story, there was a way to get involved. She hadn't been shooting in years, not since her father passed away, but she was sure she could still easily make a target.

She checked her watch. It was 8:43 a.m. Stuffing the files back into her satchel, she downed the remains of the coffee and finished the panini as quickly as possible without choking before hurrying back to her car and getting back on the road.

The M40 was mostly clear and she finally began to make good time in her journey. As she turned off on to the A40 for the final leg of the journey the butterflies started to flutter in her stomach again. She reminded herself that this was always the case when she began a new investigation; the first day would always be the hardest. _'Just standard nerves,'_ she kept repeating to herself again and again. _'Just standard nerves.'_

She finally arrived at the gated entrance to the farm chosen as the meeting point for the first protest a little after quarter to eleven. Around twenty protestors had already gathered, some holding placards, some dressed in ridiculous full body costumes as badgers, some shouting through mega-phones and generally disrupting the peace. Cars in varying states of disrepair were parked along the side of the road; Katniss drove to the end of the line of parked vehicles and pulled up. She took several deep, steadying breaths before getting out of the car. She picked up her satchel with all the files in and stored it in the boot, safely hidden and out of the way, before locking her car and making her way back along the grass verge to join the gaggle of protestors.

As Katniss approached the group of protestors she kept her eyes open for the striking blond hair and blue eyes of Peeta. She relaxed slightly as she realised that he was not here; maybe her information had been slightly off? Or perhaps he was still travelling? Either way it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders knowing that she would not have to talk to him – not yet, at least.

One of the protestors with a mega-phone appeared to be the ringleader of this particular gathering. Katniss recognised him immediately; this was definitely one of the hunt sabs she had on file. A tall, imposing black man, with the most intense stare she had ever seen. His name was Thrash or something similar. Clearly some ridiculous hippie moniker or other he had given himself. He lowered the mega-phone. "You ok, missy?"

_'Ok,'_ she thought. _'Time to get in to character.'_ "Yeah," she said out loud. "I was just on my way home, and I noticed the banners. Isn't it awful, what they're doing?"

The guy was quiet a moment. "It sure is. Pointless as well. This is nothing but blood lust."

_'Shows what you know.' _"I know, I know. Ummm… Do you have any leaflets or flyers? Something I could put up in my front window to get people aware?"__

__Another pause before speaking. "Sure. Carrie?" A girl with a shock of dyed bright purple hair appeared by his side. "You got any flyers left?" She delved into her bag and emerged clutching a flyer a moment later._ _

__Katniss studied it for a moment. It was a very simple design but one that would play on the sensibilities of the terminally over emotional. A picture of a 'cute' badger' with a target on its forehead with STOP THE CULL in bold text underneath. "Thanks," she said. "I just wish there was more I could do to help…"_ _

__"Well, if you have a spare few hours, we could always use help here. I'm Thresh," he said, holding out his hand._ _

___'Thresh. Not Thrash. Still a stupid hippie moniker though.'_ "Hi. Kat," she responded out loud, gripping his hand and giving it a firm shake._ _

__"Well, Kat, grab a placard and find yourself a spot. Welcome on board."_ _

__Kat did as she was asked. The group of protestors were clearly expecting more people to turn up at some point as there were plenty of spare placards. She picked up a placard with a similar target to the flyer she had been given that also proclaimed in giant blood red letters 'STOP THE CULL.' How incredibly imaginative…_ _

__Katniss had always felt that this type of protest was pointless but she'd never begun to imagine just how pointless it was. Aside from the occasional passing car, there was no one to protest to. She walked up to Thresh and voiced this opinion out loud._ _

__"Well, we all went on the March Against the Culls in London. This gathering today will let people passing know that there is a shoot taking place, here, tonight. It lets people know that we know. And that we will try and stop it."_ _

__Katniss nodded and resumed her vigil, still feeling that it was a very much pointless and fruitless endeavour._ _

__As the day passed the roads started to get busier. Often the cars would honk their horns as they drove past the small crowd, but whether in solidarity or in opposition was unknown. Occasionally a car would slow almost to halt to shout abuse. "Get a fucking job, you wasters!" _'If only you knew,'_ thought Katniss with a bitter smile._ _

__Not long after one o'clock, Katniss begun to wonder if her journey here was as pointless as the protest itself. She was baking hot under the sun and no one was communicating much of anything. She was staring at the grass under her feet in a kind of trance when she noticed a pair of furry black legs in front of her. Caught completely off guard, she very nearly jumped out of her skin. She looked up into the furry face of one of the protestors wearing a full body badger costume. She smiled awkwardly, not really sure of what to say to this person._ _

__This person was behaving like an actor in a Disney parade. Head cocked to one side and looking slightly towards the ground, hands behind their back, one toe spinning very slightly on the spot. She'd been lucky enough to go to Euro Disney as a kid, and this was a very close approximation of Bashful the Dwarf. Katniss couldn't help but smile a little at whoever this was. As soon as she smiled the badger held out their hand towards her. He was offering her a small bunch of dandelions. _'Whoever said romance was dead,'_ she thought as she looked at the proffered bunch of weeds, but she smiled again and took them from the costumed character. "Thank you," she said, and as she did so the badger seemed to skip in excitement. He blew her a large, exaggerated kiss and walked away, wiggling his hips from side to side as he went._ _

__Katniss watched the badger walk away with absolute bemusement. She looked at the bunch of dandelions in her hand and was unsure of what to do with them. She didn't want to have to carry a load of weeds around for the rest of the day, but also didn't want to insult one of these protestors, as any of them could be key in her getting the story she was after. She wiped her forehead on the back of her wrist, amazed by how sweaty she was getting standing around in the blazing sun. Whoever was in that costume would be thoroughly unpleasant to know by now._ _

__After another fifteen minutes or so of standing around protesting to no one more than each other and the occasional car, Katniss heard shouting coming from behind her. It would appear that the farm owner had finally had enough of these idiots hanging around near his property, and rightly so. He came barging down in to the middle of the group and shouted that he was calling the police. Katniss knew this was an empty threat. They weren't actually _on_ his property, only hanging around near it, and no one had done anything illegal as yet. But she was very interested to see how this played out. She edged her way closer and at that moment the farmer snapped. He turned around and grabbed at the nearest person, who just happened to be Katniss. She was taken completely by surprise at the sudden violent outburst. The farmer yanked the placard she had been carrying out of her hands while simultaneously pushing her to the floor and scattering her gift of the dandelions all around her._ _

__"Back off!" shouted a voice, then a furry hand was extended towards her. "Are you ok?" Katniss looked up. Her romantic badger had removed his head mask, and there, hair plastered to his head with sweat but still unmistakeable, was Peeta Mellark. His eyes were, if possible, even brighter in the flesh. She took hold of his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet. She felt unbelievably flustered and had no idea where to look. "Are you ok?" repeated Peeta, concern evident in his voice._ _

__"Ummm, yeah, yeah, I'm ok," answered Katniss._ _

__"I think you owe the lady an apology," Peeta directed towards the farmer._ _

__"I don't see any ladies here," replied the farmer, voice laced with venom._ _

__Peeta launched himself towards the farmer with his fists raised and clenched, a gesture that may have been more threatening were he not dressed as a giant badger. "Peeta, drop it." Thresh's strong arm wrapped itself around Peeta's chest preventing him from going further forward, while his commanding voice seemed to bring him back to his senses. "Take a break. Now."_ _

__Peeta looked like he had a lot more to say on the subject. His jaw was clenched, a muscle twitching furiously but he bent down and picked up the dropped head mask and skulked away. He pulled the costume gloves off using his teeth and pulled some keys from a pocket in the badger suit. He made his way to a battered VW Camper Van, opened the side door and sat down heavily. Katniss watched his progress. She had to follow him, she just had to. He was a confirmed ringleader in this group, one that had a prior criminal record, and the only member of the group who had almost gotten in to a fight here today. There was also still the intrigue about him. If he knew, or at least recognised her, in the way that she did him, then by the fact he had given her those dandelions and stood up for her just now, it had to be in a positive light. Perhaps he wasn't a risk to her cover after all? And her curiosity had to be satisfied one way or another._ _

__He was sat just inside the camper, swigging from a bottle of water and panting heavily. As she approached he looked up and smiled a boyish smile._ _

__"Thanks for standing up for me," she said._ _

__He shrugged. "It's nothing. I couldn't let him get away with it."_ _

__"And, umm… thanks for the flowers. I'm afraid they got a bit trampled."_ _

__His grin spread even wider as his eyes met hers. "I'll just have to get you some more then."_ _

__Katniss felt her face flush inexplicably under his hypnotic gaze. "I'm, umm…"_ _

__"New?"_ _

__"Kat."_ _

__"Awww, my favourite."_ _

__"S-sorry?"_ _

__"Don't apologise."_ _

__Katniss shook her head at the ridiculous conversation and hated how uncomfortable Peeta was able to make her with just a few words._ _

__He looked away smiling and said, "Sorry, I'm being a dick. Kat, right?" He stretched out his hand to shake hers. "Peeta. Sorry. I'm a bit gross at the moment." She shook his hand, then immediately had to wipe the sweat on the back of her jeans. "I warned you," he said with a grin._ _

__"I guess you did." She watched him as he downed most of his remaining water. "How do you do it?"_ _

__"Do what?"_ _

__"Wear that thing. And wear it and have that much energy. And not faint. Is it not terribly uncomfortable?"_ _

__"Yeah, it's pretty uncomfortable."_ _

__"So how, then?"_ _

__He shrugged. "There are worse things in the world than a little discomfort."_ _

__On that cryptic comment Thresh came striding over towards them. "Peeta, I need you to get out of here for a bit. That farmer feels threatened by you."_ _

__"Good."_ _

__"Peeta, I'm serious. If you want to be of any use to us later, I need you calm and focused, and I need that farmer to stop skulking around us. Get out of here."_ _

__The blond man rolled his eyes. "And where exactly am I supposed to go?"_ _

__"I don't know. Go in to town, get yourself something to eat, I don't care, just away from here."_ _

__"Are you coming too?"_ _

__"You know I can't."_ _

__Peeta cheeks flushed a deep red. "Thresh, you know I can't drive this thing," he said urgently and with no small degree of embarrassment._ _

__Katniss spied the perfect opportunity to speak to him alone, to try and gain his trust. "I'll drive you in," she offered._ _

__Both men looked at her in surprise. "You sure?" asked Thresh._ _

__"Yeah, of course."_ _

__Peeta was still flushed scarlet. "Fine," he said begrudgingly. "Give me a minute." He swung his legs up inside the Camper Van and slammed the door shut._ _

__"Thank you for this," said Thresh. "He's not normally so hot-headed, something must have gotten him pretty worked up." He raised an eyebrow at his own insinuation and walked away smirking to himself._ _

__Katniss felt the heat rising in her own cheeks. Surely Thresh wasn't saying what it appeared he was… They'd only just had one single, stupid interaction. No, there was simply no way for him to mean that…._ _

__After a few minutes the door to the Camper reopened. Peeta was dressed in jeans and a plain white t-shirt, a towel slung about his neck. His hair was still tousled from the sweat but at least no longer lay plastered to his scalp._ _

__"Hang on," he said to Katniss as he locked the Camper door, and stalked over to Thresh, leaving the keys with him. He returned looking annoyed and said, "Let's go then."_ _

__"This way," said Katniss, feeling full of apprehension. Was this really a good idea? She could practically hear Gale screaming at her not to get in a car with a complete stranger and known convict. _Gale!_ She hadn't contacted him yet! She quickly pulled out her phone and noticed that she had two missed calls and a text. She quickly responded._ _

___Am ok. Will call later. Quit worrying!_ _ _

__She hit 'Send' and pushed the phone back in to her pocket. As she approached her car she noticed the piles of rubbish in the passenger footwell once again. "Just a sec," she said, mortified. She dove in quickly, scooped up the rubbish and threw it in to the back of the car. "Sorry about that," she said, unable to meet his amused gaze._ _

__Peeta got in to the front of the car a little awkwardly before strapping himself in. "Where are we going then?" he asked._ _

__"What do you fancy?"_ _

__For a split second a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth but he soon regained his composure. "Dunno. Something really big and dirty. A burger or something."_ _

__Having grown up in the vicinity, thankfully Katniss knew exactly where to go. "I know just the place," she said before pulling away from the kerb._ _

__"Really?" he said, his eyebrows raised and a mix of disbelief and excitement colouring his voice. "Brilliant, I'm starving."_ _

__They drove along in silence for a while until Peeta spoke up. "I've not seen you at any meets before."_ _

__Katniss felt that the truth, or at least, a heavily twisted version of the truth, was her best bet here. "I've not been to anything like this before. I live locally, and was driving past and thought it was about time I got involved."_ _

__"Cool."_ _

__He lapsed back in to silence, watching the countryside roll past as Katniss drove them onwards in to town._ _

__It took about twenty minutes to drive in and find a place to park. It was always strange coming back here; like walking around a town that she had only ever visited in a dream. Nothing ever really changed, even after being away for years. The burger place she was taking Peeta to had been a favourite haunt of hers and her sister's in their teenage years. She'd have to call Prim later and tell her she'd been back._ _

__Peeta was looking round town at all the old buildings and beginning to look a little uncomfortable. "Look, this isn't going to be too posh, is it? I'm still covered in sweat, and not exactly dressed properly for a decent meal. I just really fancied a burger, that's all."_ _

__Katniss couldn't help but smirk a little that he felt uncomfortable in these sort of surroundings. But she needed to get him on her side. "No, look at me, I'm not dressed for a fancy dinner. We'll be fine." They walked another couple of minutes before she stopped and offered him a reassuring smile. "Here we are."_ _

__Peeta looked up at the sign above the door, which read _The Parlour._ It was an American 50s style Diner with rock and roll blaring out over the jukebox. He couldn't fail to supress a grin as he stepped inside. Black and white chequered floor, a long low bar with a row of red topped stools lined up along it, and a series of individual booths opposite the bar. Katniss gestured to sit in one of the booths._ _

__"This is brilliant," he said, looking around and smiling as he sat down. "So kitsch. I've a mate who'd absolutely love it; he gets off on all this retro shit."_ _

__A waitress delivered their menus with a smile. Katniss knew without looking at the menu exactly what she'd have. The Chicken Double Bacon Grill had been her favourite choice since her first visit here, and she hadn't had it in years._ _

__Peeta's smile had frozen in place since opening the menu, and the air of discomfort seemed to grow. "Is everything ok?" she asked._ _

__"Ummm, yeah… I just…. I should have been more… I mean, I just assumed… "_ _

__"What's wrong?"_ _

__"Well…I've never met anyone at one of these protests who… y'know… eats meat."_ _

__Katniss could have kicked herself. Of course these crazy nuts would be vegetarians. It figured. She cursed her research notes for missing that one vital piece of information. She risked a quick glance down at the menu, but didn't want to make it obvious. There was one single burger with a 'V' printed next to it. "Oh, I don't," she said, "but the Veggie Mozzarella Melt is to die for. Best burger for miles around."_ _

__"Oh," he said, sounding thoroughly unconvinced. He checked the back of the menu but clearly saw nothing to his fussy tastes and turned back again._ _

__"Trust me, it's so good."_ _

__"Hmmm."_ _

__The waitress returned taking a small note book out of a pocket in the front of her apron. "Can I take your orders?"_ _

__"Yeah, can we get two Veggie Mozzarella Melts-"_ _

__"Better make that just one," said Peeta, "Unless you're really hungry?"_ _

__The waitress paused for a moment. "Do you need another few minutes?"_ _

__"Do you cook the chips separate to the burgers? I mean, they're not cooked in the same oil or anything?"_ _

__"Oh no, it's all kept separate."_ _

__"I'll just have some chips then."_ _

__"So…. One Mozzarella Melt, one portion of chips…. Is that everything?"_ _

__"And another chips," added Katniss. If she was being forced in to eating food she didn't actually want she'd be damned if she wasn't going to have something she'd enjoy. "And a coke. You?" Peeta nodded. "Two cokes."_ _

__The waitress smiled and thanked them for their order, leaving them alone once again._ _

__"So, don't like mozzarella then?"_ _

__"Nope."_ _

__She sighed deeply. This meeting was not going according to plan at all. Maybe it would be better to try and get in with someone else in the group. After all, she'd had a bad feeling about Peeta Mellark from the word go._ _

__Peeta was staring at her intensely which was making her feel incredibly uncomfortable. She wished he'd look at something else. She tried to give him the hint by staring at the photograph of Buddy Holly on the wall of their booth, but out of the corner of her eye she could see he was still studying her. She couldn't bear it another moment longer._ _

__"Is there something the matter?" she asked._ _

__"No."_ _

__"So why are you staring?"_ _

__"Just trying to work out where I know you from."_ _

__Katniss froze solid. So she hadn't been imagining it. She did know him from somewhere._ _

__"I'm not imagining it, am I?" he said, echoing her thoughts._ _

__"I, ummm, I don't know."_ _

__"It feels like it was somehow out of a dream," he said, then started laughing at the look on her face. "I know that sounds really weird, I swear I'm not a creepy stalker, but… That's how it feels. Like I've met you before but not in the waking world."_ _

__"No, you had it in one. You sound like a weird, creepy stalker."_ _

__"But you recognise me, right? Admit it."_ _

__At that moment the food arrived, meaning that Katniss had an excuse not to answer. She took a bite of the burger. Not bad. Far richer than anything she would ever have usually chosen, but not anywhere near as tasteless as she was expecting._ _

__She looked at Peeta, digging in to his paltry bowl of chips. "Is that all you wanted?"_ _

__"No, but this is all I could have, so…." He shrugged and continued to dig in. At the rate he was going he'd be finished before Katniss had even had a quarter of her burger._ _

__"You hungry?"_ _

__"Starving, I told you before."_ _

__"Do you want my chips?"_ _

__"You mean it?"_ _

__Katniss took a few out of the bowl and put them on the side of her own plate, then pushed the remainder towards him, nodding. "Help yourself."_ _

__"Cheers," he said._ _

__"S'ok, I was never able to finish a bowl of chips here anyway. I'd always come with my sister, Prim, and she'd always end up stealing half of mine._ _

__Peeta nearly choked on the mouthful of chips he was swallowing. "Prim?" he choked out. "Prim and Kat? Not Primrose Everdeen?"_ _


	4. Chapter 3 - Peeta

**28th December, Two Years Ago**

Smell. The first of his senses to return was that of smell. Disinfectant. A really horrible, chemical scent of disinfectant filled his nostrils. Not the natural tea-tree and lavender oil disinfectant that he would usually use; this smell was much more commercial and mass produced. He wondered vaguely what on Earth had possessed him to not only purchase such a brand but to splash it so liberally around his bedroom of all places. Never mind. He was far too tired to deal with the mystery. He'd figure it out in the morning.

\---------------------------------------

Touch came next. The bed sheets felt crisp and starched. Had his mum come back? She had walked out on them when he was seven years old and he hadn't seen or heard from her since. His memories of her were vague and blurred, but he could still remember the excessive starch she used to wash everything with, and how the bed sheets were left stiffened so she could fold the corners to, in her eyes, 'perfection.' He much preferred his dad's haphazard way of washing the sheets and making the beds. It wasn't as neat or tidy, but it was certainly much more comfortable. He felt annoyed that she had chosen to return now, out of the blue, after abandoning them eighteen years ago, only to make him lie in an uncomfortable bed. He'd tell her he didn't need to be looked after any more when he saw her, but right now he was too tired. He'd deal with her in the morning.

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Sound. Voices he didn't recognise. Far too many of them. What right did these strangers have to barge in to his bedroom? What could they possibly want? Then a sound he did recognise. A voice. A sweet, beautiful voice he could listen to every day. And he would. Every day for the rest of his life. Jenn. His love. His life. His whole world. His fiancée. The woman he would marry.

"I'm sorry," said her voice. "I can't do this." He wanted to tell her not to apologise, and to tell him whatever it was she couldn't do, and he'd do it for her. He would do anything for her, he would move mountains, fetch the moon, absolutely anything she asked of him.

He heard another sound. A gentle, metallic clinking sound, similar to a coin being dropped and spinning slightly before coming to rest. He tried to tell her she had dropped something but his mouth opened uselessly and he couldn't speak.

"Goodbye, Peeta." He hated 'goodbye.' It always sounded so final. He much preferred 'see you later.' Never mind. He'd see her again in the morning.

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Sight returned at last. Two angels were stood at the foot of his bed. The shorter of the two was pale and blond, her hair pulled back in a tight French plait running down her back. The other was… perfection. Of course she was perfection, she was an angel and therefore by her very nature perfect and incorruptible. Her olive skin seemed to shine, lighting her grey eyes like a stormy sky. She was talking to the blond haired angel, and they were hugging and laughing, a gorgeous, clear melodic sound which lifted his heart as he heard it.

Why these angels had to come to watch him sleep he didn't know, but it was a comfort to know nonetheless. He tried to sit up straight so as to look at them better, but his feet wouldn't get any kind of purchase on the bed. The olive skinned angel noticed his difficulty moving and pointed it out to the pale, blond angel, who rushed forward and placed an arm around his back to help ease his struggle. The olive skinned angel said, "See you later." _'See you later.'_ So much better than 'goodbye.'

\---------------------------------------

**Present Day**

Was this really her? The woman he had seen as he woke up in hospital in a drug addled state having lost both his left leg below the knee and far worse, his fiancée.

He had often wondered if she was even real, or an hallucination brought on by the intense pain killers. But he knew Prim was real. Sweet Prim who had calmly explained what had happened to him and how they had been unable to save his leg. Caring, kind Prim who had held him as he wept after finding Jenn's returned engagement ring on his bedside table. Patient, loyal Prim who had been with him every difficult step of his therapy as he had to relearn how to walk. Concerned and generous Prim, who had gone way above and beyond her usual duties as a nurse, buying soy milk out of her own pocket when the hospital didn't provide so he could have tea or cereal for breakfast, making sandwiches for him at home when the only vegan foods on the hospital menu were white bread, chips, mashed potatoes… He would never forget her kindness. And Kat was her sister? The vision of perfection, that after realising Jenn was never coming back he had dwelt upon, was the sister of one of the sweetest people he had ever met? Surely this was fate bringing them together?

As she arrived at the protest she had taken his breath away. He had immediately found her to be beautiful and intriguing. He had wanted to talk to her straight away but since Jenn had left him his confidence with women had fallen through the floor. He was good at pretending, putting on a show of confidence, but the pretence was so easily broken. It had only been after watching her for the previous couple of hours that he had finally gained the confidence to offer her the dandelions.

But then he found that talking to her was easy. Even their silences felt comfortable. It had been well over two years since Jenn had left him and being with Kat was the first time he had felt comfortable talking to a woman he found attractive since. It was so incredibly liberating to be able to speak to, and even flirt with, a beautiful woman again without accidentally pushing them away or scaring them off. But for this beautiful woman to be the angel who he woke up to in hospital? It felt like something out of a classic Hollywood romance. He hoped he'd get his happy ending...

Kat's heated voice cut in to his thoughts. "How the hell do you know Prim?" she demanded.

"I don't _know_ her as such…"

She snorted. "You're giving off that stalker vibe again."

Peeta ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath. He was already driving her away from him and the conversation was spiralling rapidly downwards. He didn't often talk about the accident and his subsequent injury. The months following had been some of the darkest of his life, and looking back in hindsight things hadn't been exactly rosy for a few months prior either. He hated the mixed looks of horror and sympathy that describing his injury and the circumstances of it usually elicited in people. And he hated that there were still times he needed help, that there were things he could no longer do. Today was a prime example – he could no longer drive anything other than an automatic; a standard manual gearbox was just too much of a delicate operation for him to cope with.

"She… looked after me…. In hospital… a few years back."

"Oh." Kat's whole demeanour changed.

His heart in his throat, he decided to take a risk. "I think you might have been there when I woke up."

A frown creased her brow as she delved in to her memories, followed by a look of surprise and comprehension. "Oh my god," she breathed. "I remember. I was heading back home after Christmas. She'd been called in on a day off, and I'd come to tell her I was going. That was you? Bloody hell. Small world, hey?"

"Yeah. Small world."

"So, Christmas in hospital? Can't have been fun."

Peeta swallowed heavily. Some of the memories were still painful. "I've had better," he agreed.

"What were you in for?" she asked then immediately backtracked as she saw the look on his face. "I'm sorry," she said.

"It's ok," he mumbled as he pushed the last of his chips around in the bowl. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks again.

A few moments of silence, then, "Look, can we start again? I don't feel like this has gone particularly well from the outset. I'm Kat."

She had extended her arm out towards him. Peeta allowed a small smile to lift the corner of his mouth, as he took her hand in his own. He shook it and said, "Peeta."

"So, Peeta, what do you do? Other than dress up like giant furry animals?"

"That's probably my best selling point."

"Ok, but what do you do for a living? And please don't say you dress up like giant furry animals, because I'll start to get really worried."

"I'm an artist."

"Really?"

"Really."

Peeta could tell that whatever she had been expecting him to say, it wasn't that. "So what kind of stuff?" she asked.

"Nothing ground-breaking. Mostly it's commissions from rich old women who want a portrait of their dog to hang above their mantelpiece. But I'd love to be able to do something more, I don't know, _meaningful,_ you know?" He shrugged. He'd been through this dilemma time and again. "But unless you're famous, people don't really want _'meaningful'_ from you. They just want bland, insipid, safe. Pays the bills though."

"Well, I'd love to see what you can do some time."

"And what about you? What do you do?"

"I'm a writer."

"Really?"

"Really."

Peeta laughed as the conversation echoed itself. "So, what kind of stuff?"

Kat began to giggle. "Nothing ground-breaking. Articles in women's magazines, short stories, blog posts. Pays the bills. But yeah, I'd love to do something more meaningful."

Peeta could hardly believe his ears. Maybe this could be the opportunity to get their message out to the public in a clear and positive light…. "Then do something more meaningful. Write about us."

"W-what?" stammered Kat.

"It's perfect. We're always being painted in the light of the media as criminals and thugs, when all we want is to save, not to destroy. Do a piece on us, show the world what we're actually like."

She appeared to contemplate it for a moment. "Ok," she said at last.

"Ok!" Peeta had taken on an excited energy, and was anxious to get the ball rolling. "We should head back, you can talk to some of the guys, they're a great bunch of people, you'll see."

"Sure," she said, smiling at his enthusiasm.

They got the bill and Kat insisted on paying. "I feel bad for taking you somewhere where there wasn't anything you liked," she said as they started to walk back towards her car.

"It's not that I don't like it as such, I used to love cheese. I just don't eat it."

Kat's eyes widened, "So you're…" She hesitated over her words.

Peeta laughed at her insecurity. "You can say it, you know. It's not a dirty word. Yeah. I'm vegan."

"But you're so… big…." As soon as the words escaped her mouth she became incredibly flustered, a rosy glow creeping over her cheeks. Peeta found the sight incredibly endearing and couldn't help the flutter of butterflies he felt in his stomach. "Oh god, I meant…"

He had to bite his lip to stop himself laughing at her. "It's ok," he said, "You're not the first person to say it." Her rosy hue deepened even further and she couldn't look him in the eyes.

"How…how long…."

"That's a bit of a personal question." Kat put her hands over her mouth and looked utterly shocked. Peeta raised his hands in a placatory gesture. "Ok, I'm done. Sorry. No more innuendo, I promise."

"Good, because I'll just leave you here if there is."

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

He was on the brink of saying how much he would love to 'try her,' but thought better of it. As much as he was truly enjoying flirting with her he didn't want to push his luck too soon.

They got back in to Kat's car and she started the engine. "So am I going to get a sensible answer from you?" she asked.

"You haven't asked me a question yet," he replied.

"How long have you been vegan?"

"Is this all going to be used in the piece you do?" Kat nodded. "Ok, I'll try and be sensible. Since I was sixteen."

"So that's….?"

"Eleven years now."

Kat let out a long, low whistle of air. "Crikey. So what, were your parents veggie or something?"

"No, it was all my own decision."

"Ok, but why vegan? Why not vegetarian?"

"Well for starters I was already vegetarian."

"But I thought you said…"

"I stopped eating meat when I was about five."

Katniss gawked at him, clearly amazed that such a decision could be made by a child so young. "Why?"

He shrugged. "Mum had made us sausages for dinner. She put them in front of me and I asked what they were. She said 'sausages,' I said 'but what are sausages,' and she told me they were made from piggies. I burst in to tears and wouldn't eat them. I found out that burgers were cows, nuggets were chickens and fish fingers were fishes. Mum kept trying to force me to eat them but I refused. Dad didn't mind so much, he stood up for me, said it was up to me."

"So again, why vegan?"

"I started going to sab meetings. I'd always loved animals, and there were so many foxhunts near where I grew up, it killed me to think they were getting hurt and I was doing nothing to stop it. And most of the people I met there were vegan. I found out that dairy is meat. Eggs are meat. It's all the same industry, just different sides of the same coin. And it hurt me too much to know I was funding it. I didn't see that I had a choice if I wanted to stay true to my ethical beliefs."

The conversation in the car journey was easy and relaxed. Whether this was because Kat was genuinely interested in what he was saying or whether it was due to her professionalism, Peeta didn't know. He hoped it was the former, especially as she was a veggie herself. He couldn't stop glancing at her profile as she was driving. The focus in her stormy grey eyes, the length of her lashes, the strength of her cheekbones, the swell of her soft, full lips… He dwelt upon those lips the longest. It had been too long, far too long since he had felt the touch of a woman's lips on his own. He began to imagine how those lips would feel elsewhere. He closed his eyes briefly, and the image of Kat looking up at him, his cock in her mouth swam in the forefront of his mind. His body threatened to betray him and he was forced to keep his hands firmly in his lap, lest it become apparent that he was having hugely inappropriate thoughts about her.

By the time they got back he was already vaguely regretting the decision to return to the protest; part of him wanted to be selfish for a change and keep her all to himself. He had felt so relaxed for the first time in an incredibly long time and didn't want the feeling to end. When they were finally ready to get out of the car, Peeta's errant body had started to behave again and he was able to get out without embarrassment.

Since they had left a minor police presence had turned up on the scene. Just two cars and four cops, nothing major. It would have to mean that everyone stayed on their very best behaviour however. Peeta sought Thresh out amongst the crowd and headed straight towards him. "You cool?" Thresh asked as he approached.

"Yeah, look, I've got some great news. Kat's a writer, she's offered to do a piece on us."

Peeta's enthusiasm was usually infectious but Thresh looked at him blankly. "What?"

"She's a writer. She wants to help get our story out there."

"Are you out of your tiny mind?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Who is she, Peet? We don't know shit about her, she turns up, wants to write about us and you're ok with that?"

"It wasn't her idea, it was mine," Peeta retaliated in her defence.

"Well she isn't talking to anyone here."

"Oh, come on mate, it'd be good for us. Get some positive attention for once."

"No," said Thresh. "It'd be good for you. Admit it, you just want to get in her knickers. I mean , I can't say I blame you, but don't get us involved."

He was talking sense, and deep down Peeta knew it. Anyone could turn up and protest but a lot of the sabbing required anonymity and total secrecy. Getting an outside element such as Kat involved would compromise how much they could achieve.

"She's a pretty girl, Peet, but seriously. You've only just met her. Don't rush."

Peeta could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks again, flooding his face with colour. How had he managed to get so caught up in the moment? But he knew he could trust Kat, he could just _feel_ it, and he felt as if he had known her forever.

"That's him!" A raised voice caught everyone's attention. Peeta looked up towards the source of the voice. The farmer he had gone for earlier was talking to a couple of police officers and pointing exactly at him.

"Oh for the love of…" said Peeta in a low voice as the two officers made their way towards him. "I haven't done anything wrong," he said out loud as they came closer.

"That's not what we've heard. We've had a complaint of attempted assault made against you. We'd appreciate it if you would accompany us back to the station and answer a few questions."

"I don't think that's necessary," said Peeta.

"You can either come with us voluntarily or we will be forced to place you under arrest. It's your choice."

"But I haven't _done_ anything!" he protested again.

The handcuffs were snapped in to place on his right wrist in the blink of an eye. "This is bullshit!" he shouted. Moments later the officer had spun him around and brought his left arm behind him as well, locking him in place. "I am arresting you on suspicion of assault," said the officer. "You do not have to say anything but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence."

Peeta wasn't listening as he was being manoeuvred towards one of the parked police cars. He caught Kat's eye and noted the look of shock and disappointment on her face. He turned back to Thresh. "Give her my number. Please!" A hand was placed over the top of his head to stop him banging it as he was forced in to the back seat of the car. He sought Kat out once again, keeping his eyes on her and her alone for as long as possible, as the police car sped him away.


	5. Chapter 4 - Peeta

After a night in the cells Peeta was finally released with a Caution at half eight the following morning. He had hardly slept and since the chips he had eaten with Kat at lunch yesterday all he had had to eat were two bananas and a weak black tea. He had felt far too self-conscious to take off his prosthetic in the night and as a result this morning his left leg felt itchy and sore, and was giving him cause to limp slightly with every step. He desperately just wanted to be at home, to be able to shower, and to see his family. Not his human family. His mother hadn't been seen in twenty years, his father had passed away four years ago and his brothers hadn't spoken to him since. But his animal family. His motley crew of abandoned and rescued animals whose loyalty and love never wavered.

After his father had passed away, the family properties were divided up between the three brothers. Crispian, Peeta's oldest brother, inherited the Mellark Bakery, an artisan bakery and tea-shop specialising in beautifully and delicately iced wedding cakes. Rye, the middle brother, had inherited the holiday home in Sospel, Provence, a tiny village in the Alps. He rented it out most of the year and as a result didn't need to work anymore, an arrangement which suited Rye down to the ground. Peeta had inherited the family home, and had caused massive arguments when he had immediately placed it on the market. He used the money from the sale of the house to buy a small cottage in a village on the outskirts of Ipswich. After graduating from uni, Jenn had moved back to Ipswich and he had come with her. They had been renting a one bedroomed flat in the town centre, working any job they could get, and so were both grateful to be able to move to the outskirts and not have to worry about making rent anymore.

The remainder of the money from the sale of the family home Peeta used to set up a small animal sanctuary. It had been his dream for many years, and he finally had the space to be able to do it. He started small; rescuing four hens from a battery farm, two piglets from a factory farm, a Labrador bitch who had been used as a backyard breeder and three kittens who had been found by the side of the road tied up in a sack. Eventually he was able to expand a little. He was able to build an extension on the back of the cottage that could house five reasonably large enclosures, and with this space he became a member of the Cats Protection League, an official rescue centre that would rehome rescued and abandoned cats. He was at his happiest surrounded by his fur family, who didn't judge him, or make any demands on him and who had never run away or left him alone.

He had left his charges in the capable hands of his closest human friends, Finnick and Annie, but he hadn't been able to stop worrying about whether everyone was ok. The first thing he had done on leaving the police station had been to telephone Finn.

Finn answered with a yawn. "Alright P-P-Peet?"

"Did I wake you up?"

"Uh-huh."

"Good, it's gone half eight, you should be up and out. I've usually taken Belle for her walk by now."

"Good for you, Superman."

"Finn, you won't get everything done if you don't start early." Peeta was beginning to panic. Looking after everyone was a full time job. When he had a painting commission to deal with as well he was lucky to be able to grab just four hours sleep a night.

"Quit panicking, it's under control." He yawned loudly again. "How'd it go anyway?"

"Dunno, I spent the night in the cop shop."

Finnick snorted loudly down the phone. "You're kidding, right? You? What did you do?"

"Nothing! It wasn't my fault!"

"So who's fault was it?"

Peeta sat down heavily on a bench, his leg giving him too much grief to remain upright any longer. "Dickhead farmer, he pushed a girl over."

"Oh really? And you had to defend her honour, right?" said Finnick, his voice thick with insinuations.

"Something like that."

"Was she fit?"

"Shut up, Finn."

"She better have been fit, Peet, no point getting a record over a munter."

"I only got a Caution."

"So she _was_ a munter?"

"No! Ok? No. She was… beautiful, actually. Really beautiful."

"So, when are you seeing her again? Have you called her yet?"

"I don't have her number."

"Lame, Peet. Lame."

Peeta hung his head in his hands. "I know, ok? Don't rub it in."

Finnick was silent a moment. "Someone will have her number," he said, and his light-hearted mocking tone had dropped.

"She might have mine, I don't know. I asked Thresh to give it to her."

"Well then, don't lose hope yet. When are you getting back here?"

He pressed the heels of his hands in to his eyes. "Dunno. I don't know where anyone is, I haven't called them yet."

"Well, stay in touch, yeah?"

"Will do. See you later, mate."

He hung up and looked around. It was as if he were in a ghost town, not a single person out on the streets. He tried to call Thresh's phone but it went straight through to answerphone. "Call me back as soon as you get this," he said, then hung up. He checked the front of his phone. Less than twenty percent battery left. He hoped Thresh got the message soon…

They always had contingency plans in case they were split up. If it got to midday and they hadn't heard from each other Thresh would drive back without him, and Peeta would get a train back, but the thought of getting public transport half way across the country, and having to hightail it across the tube network in London, especially on a Sunday where half the trains would be subjected to engineering works, and especially when his leg was feeling so sore, was not an appealing prospect.

His stomach growled uncomfortably. It was before nine a.m. on a Sunday morning, so nowhere on the high street would be open; if he could find his way to the train station there was a possibility that at least a newsagent would be open, and there would be benches he could rest on instead of having to stay on his feet for the next few hours. Getting directions from the guy on reception in the police station he started the long and difficult trek. Apparently it was about a fifteen to twenty minute walk to the train station. At the current speed he could go at, Peeta estimated it would probably take him closer to thirty or forty minutes. He began to hobble towards his destination, keeping a close watch on his phone and hoping beyond hope that Thresh would call him back soon.

As he made his very slow progress through town his mind drifted to Kat. He couldn't get her out of his thoughts. Her sparkling grey eyes,, her long dark hair, her clear olive skin… Everything about her was so incredibly alluring. And the icing on the cake – as he had spoken to her about the animal right's campaigns he'd been involved with over the years, she had seemed so interested, asking more and more about everything, instead of raising the self-defensive barriers that so many people did.

He couldn't understand why Thresh was so adamant that her doing a story for them was a bad idea. To Peeta's mind it was perfect. She was on their side, and if she was a regularly published writer she could bring their story to the masses. He'd thought about it again and again over the night in his lonely police cell. They could remain anonymous and just focus the writing on the issues, not the individuals. If the wider public just knew what was going on then together maybe, just maybe, they could force change.

Had Thresh passed his number on to her? If he hadn't how would he contact her again? He checked his phone yet again. If Thresh had passed his number on, why hadn't she contacted him yet?

His leg was becoming more and more painful, and he had to focus all of his mental energy in staying upright. He concentrated firmly on placing one foot in front of the other. After a while he became aware of a car driving along beside him. He looked up briefly and the shock of what he saw nearly knocked him over.

The driver of this slow vehicle following him was Kat. The window was wound down and she leant over the passenger side to call out, "Do you want a lift?"

A grin spread across his face and he limped closer to the car. Putting one hand on top of the car he leant in to the window and said, "You looking for some fun?"

Kat rolled her eyes but she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth twitching up in to a slight smile. "Get in," she said. As he climbed in with difficulty she asked, "What have you done?" while indicating his limp.

"It's nothing," said Peeta quickly. "Just slept badly on it."

There was concern in her voice as she said, "You're sure that's all it is?"

"Yeah, it's fine, just a little sore, that's all."

She was quiet for a beat, then said, "Reports of police brutality are on the increase."

Peeta laughed, "Are you thinking of doing a special report? Nah, it's fine, nothing to worry about."

"So, where to? Are you meeting up with your friends again?"

Peeta shrugged. "I don't know. I'll probably just get a train back."

"Good luck with that on a Sunday."

"Yeah, cheers…"

Kat pulled away from the kerb at last, to take Peeta to his destination. "I can't believe none of them have come to pick you up, to see if you are ok."

"They had more important things to worry about."

"More important than checking on a friend?"

"Why would they need to check on me? They knew precisely where I was, and what they were doing is way more important than watching me languishing in a room and knowing there's nothing that could be done. It's not the first time something like this has happened and it probably won't be the last."

Peeta noticed a look of amusement flash over Kat's eyes very briefly. "What is it?" he said, a half smile of his own turning up the corners of his mouth.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I've just… I've never met anyone who seems to care so little for themselves ahead of others."

"Really?" said Peeta. "It sounds to me like you've been meeting all the wrong people then."

In no time at all they reached the train station. Peeta thanked her profusely for the ride, while Kat seemed to be debating something with herself. "Look," she said at last, "I'm heading back to London. Any trains you get are gonna go via London, I reckon. So would you like a lift back, at least to London? I don't live far from a tube station, you can go wherever you need to go from there."

Peeta couldn't believe the words he was hearing. "You serious?"

"I'm serious. Unless you think I'm some kind of weird, creepy stalker?"

"I think I can trust you."

"Anyway, I feel bad about you getting taken away like that. It was bang out of order; you were only standing up for me. It's the least I can do."

He felt the grin on his face get wider as he settled himself back in to the passenger seat and Kat accelerated away. He quickly sent a text to Thresh that read _'Am ok, getting lift back. See u soon. P_ ,' then he stowed the phone in his pocket and turned to his saviour. "Seriously, I can't thank you eough for this."

"It's nothing, I'm heading back this way any way."

A slight frown creased his brow. Something she was saying just wasn't adding up. "So you live in London?"

"I do."

"I thought you said yesterday you lived locally."

Katniss faltered only for a second. Dammit. This man was making her lose every semblance of professionalism. "I was on my way home. _Mum's_ home. The home I grew up in. I live in London, but I still say I live here too. You can have two homes, smartarse."

"Fair enough," he grinned. "So your mum didn't mind you vanishing for a few hours yesterday to come and protest with us?"

Kat's smile faltered for a second. "Mum… isn't really there all the time. She wouldn't have noticed."

Peeta felt the bottom fall from his stomach. He could entirely relate to the feeling of an absent mother, but to have her _physically_ there but not _emotionally?_ He wasn't sure he would be able to deal with that. "I'm sorry," he said.

Kat shrugged. "Don't apologise, you get used to it."

"Yeah, I guess you do," he replied, his voice low.

"What's that?"

"Nothing," he said, the smile returning to his face. He had at least two hours in the car with this girl that he found so intriguing, and he didn't want to spend those two hours wallowing in self-pity. "So, are you still up for doing this piece on us?"

"I am. Your friend Thresh told everyone not to talk to me though. I doubt he'd be impressed if he knew I had you to myself for a couple of hours."

"Thresh doesn't trust any one. And anyway, he can't stop me talking. But," he said, his eyes sparkling mischievously, "I won't talk to just anyone. I've got to know exactly who they are first."

"Oh, I agree. Trust is very important."

"So… if we can get to know each other a bit better, maybe I'd be able to talk to you a little more openly."

"Ok, ask me anything. But every question you ask, I get to ask you one in return. Deal?"

"Hmmmm. Not sure I'm ready to open up that much just yet. Only 'getting to know you' questions at the moment. Nothing deep. Deal?"

Kat chuckled slightly as she manoeuvred the car out and merged in to the motorway. "Fine. Deal."

"Ok. Ummm….. favourite band?" Kat hesitated for just long enough of a moment for Peeta to then ask, "Oh, god, it's not something really embarrassing is it?"

"No!" she protested. "Just kinda…obvious….. I guess. The Beatles."

"Hey, they're popular for a reason. Favourite album?"

"Revolver, and that's two questions you've got out. I get two now." She paused for a moment. "Shit, now my mind's blank. Ok, same question, favourite band?"

Peeta's eyes drifted down from her face that was concentrating on the road ahead to the swell of her breasts, and the band logo stretched tight across them. "Pearl Jam," he said without a hint of irony.

"Eye's up here, mister," she said, looking briefly at him and catching where his gaze had landed. "You better have answered truthfully, otherwise I get two more questions."

His gaze lingered just a few moments longer. "Nope, it's the truth, I promise."

"Ok, fine. Favourite meal?"

"Impossible to answer. You may as well have asked me if I prefer oxygen or water."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I love food. I can't pick a favourite, it's like the ultimate _Sophie's Choice_ question for me. Speaking of which, I'm going to have to get something real soon." As if to prove a point his stomach growled loudly at that particular moment. "See? Anyway, my turn…. Favourite colour?"

"Forest green," she said immediately.

"Wow. That must be hard living in London."

"It can be," she agreed. "I spend as much of my time in parks as I can. Star sign?"

"Pisces. You?"

"Taurus."

"You don't believe in all that astrology crap do you?"

"No, I was just interested, and that's the second time you've got two questions out."

He held his hands up. "I'm sorry, I'm just way too keen," he replied with a chuckle. He glanced over at her profile again. He wanted to know everything there was about this girl, he had not had anyone pique his interest in such a long time. "Your turn," he said.

"Ok, favourite film?"

"Ha! Do you want the wanky, 'trying to impress a beautiful, intelligent girl' answer or the honest one?"

A smile crept across her lips. "Well, I'm intrigued now. If you were trying to impress a girl what would you say?"

"Well," he began slowly, "I may go for something quirky and romantic if I felt that would show off my more sensitive side. Definitely a subtitled film, something like _Amelie_ , perhaps. Or possibly something a bit more edgy. Arthouse and indie, you know, something black and white. Maybe _Down by Law_ , that'd definitely make me sound cooler than I am."

"Ok, and the honest answer?"

"Probably _Back to the Future._ "

"Never seen it."

If Peeta had been driving he would have been hard pressed not to crash the car at such a revelation. "What?"

"Never seen it!"

"How?"

"I've just never seen it! I always thought it looked a bit, well, shit, to be honest."

"You and me are going to fall out in a minute," he said, shaking his head in utter disbelief but still smiling. "You _have_ to see it. You should come over one evening; we'll do the trilogy."

"Oh really? And would we be watching that, or would we actually be watching one of these 'trying to impress a girl' films?"

"No, fuck that, _Back to the Future_ all the way."

She seemed to be considering his offer. "Ok," she said at last. "I'd say that agreeing to watch a trilogy of potentially shit films with someone is enough to gain their trust. I do that and you give me an honest and candid interview about what you do."

His heart skipped. Was she actually already agreeing to a movie night with him? And he'd get to do the story as well? "Deal," he said. "No names though, it needs to be anonymous."

"Deal."

He smiled widely and looked out of the window, watching the countryside roll past for a minute or two. His mind drifted back to the t-shirt pulled tightly across her breasts. He tried to picture what they would look like freed from the restraints of her clothing and he felt his cock twitch slightly with the rush of blood to it. What was wrong with him? Why was this girl, whom he had met only a day previously, having such an effect on him? No other girl had ever invaded his conscious so quickly. Her voice cut in to his thoughts, making him jump slightly. "Your turn."

"Are you single?" The words came out of his mouth before he was even aware of forming the sentence in his mind. She raised an eyebrow but maintained a cool exterior. He felt a rush of anticipation in the pit of his stomach before she answered. 'Please let it be yes… please let it be yes….'

"I am," she said, and his heart did backflips. "Are you?"

"I am," he said and for a second he saw surprise clearly etched across her face. He took heart from that look, warmth pooling in his chest. She had expected him to have a girlfriend. Was she feeling the same happiness knowing there was no-one else on the scene that he was currently experiencing? He felt himself begin to grow hard again, shielding himself from her view. This was getting ridiculous; he felt like an out of control teenager around her. His mouth became suddenly dry; his imagination was running away with him far too quickly. He took a deep breath and turned back to the rush of countryside flying past the window and saw a sign prounoucing that they would be passing a service station in two miles He had to get away from her; being in this car in such close proximity was driving him crazy. "Is it ok if we pull over?" he said. "I've really got to eat, I'm absolutely starving." Two miles. Two miles to get his body back under control. He hoped he could do it in time.


	6. Chapter 5 - Katniss

They pulled in to the service station and Katniss watched as Peeta hobbled straight towards the Marks and Spencer. He appeared to be having tremendous difficulty putting any weight on his left foot and despite herself she couldn't help but feel concern for him.

She watched him from a slight distance as he methodically picked up the small pots of deli salads, flipped them over and read the ingredients, a look of concentration on his face. Sometimes he would put them immediately back, a look of disappointment on his face and pick up the next one. Occasionally he would tuck them under his arm looking immensely pleased and try the next. After paying for his haul he queued up at the hot food stand where he also bought a jacket potato with baked beans. He made his way slowly towards where Katniss had reserved them a table and emptied the three gourmet pots of various wild rice, orzo pasta and mixed bean salads on to his plate with the potato.

"Peckish?" she asked him, indicating the mounds of food, piled on his plate.

"You know it," he replied diving in. "You sure you didn't want anything?"

"No, I ate at mum's."

"Here." He reached in to his jeans pocket and pulled out a battered canvas wallet. He took a ten pound note out and handed it over to Katniss. "Would you do me a favour? Could you get me a cup of tea? The biggest one they do? Get yourself something too."

Katniss took the money from him, and as she did so their fingers brushed against each other just for a second. She felt her breath catch for a second and felt a surge of annoyance at herself as butterflies fluttered briefly in her stomach.

As she queued at the Costa stand she watched him eat as if he hadn't had food in a week. He was nothing like how she had expected such a renowned activist to be. When he spoke about the campaigns he'd been involved in and why, he had spoken passionately, eloquently, but not angrily and despite herself she had found that she was actually interested in what he was saying. But still… It was all so… _extreme._ He spoke about animals as if they had the same value as people, and of course he couldn't be more wrong.

She was grateful that he seemed to be so open and trusting. If all the activists she had encountered had been so guarded, like that Thresh had been, she would struggle to get anything on any of them, but Peeta seemed to be so much more of an open book. That was good. Trusting people were always so much easier to manipulate…

She felt a pang of guilt, which she immediately tried to push aside. Why was she feeling something as inconvenient as guilt? She had lied to and manipulated people to get a story before, so why was she feeling bad now? The answer was pretty obvious. Peeta may have had a criminal record, and he had absurd views on the way the world worked, but he could hardly be compared to the hardened and despicable gang members and perverts she had exposed before. Katniss had to remind herself that his views were wrong, radical, and that they needed to be shown to the wider public to swing public opinion in the right direction.

She ordered a tea for him and her favourite vanilla latte for herself. The girl serving had her hair tied in two bunches, dyed a ludicrous shade of bright red. Katniss looked back at Peeta, still shovelling food into his mouth as if his life depended on it. One of the photos she had on her file was of him with a girl with a similar shade of bright red hair. They had clearly been a couple in the picture, and yet when she had asked him if he was single he had confirmed that he was. She wondered what had happened to this other girl.

Her order was placed on a plastic tray in front of her which she picked up and steadily made her way back to the table. By the time she had sat down opposite Peeta most of the mountain of food on his plate had been demolished. "Jesus," she said. "How did you eat that so quickly?"

A pink glow crept across his cheeks and the tips of his ears. "I told you," he said between mouthfuls. "I _really_ love food."

"Clearly," she said, and she moved the giant tea in front of him along with the small jug of milk.

"Is that soy?" he asked picking up the jug and looking suspiciously at the contents.

"Ummm-" she began to stutter but Peeta smiled. "S'ok, it's easily sorted." He got up and walked slowly to the Costa stand, still clearly struggling to put much weight on his left hand side. Katniss wondered what precisely had caused him to become injured; he had been absolutely fine when she had seen him escorted away by the police the previous day.

He returned with a new jug of milk and eased himself slowly into the seat opposite her. A look of discomfort briefly flashed across his face, which he tried to disguise by picking up the giant cup of tea and taking a sip from the too hot liquid.

"Are you sure you're ok?" she asked. "Do you want me to take a look? You don't have a nurse for a sister and not learn one or two things."

He blanched rapidly, and his hands began to shake. He put the tea down and fixed a smile on his face, one which didn't quite disguise the fear and worry in his eyes. "Seriously, don't worry. I'll be fine. It's nothing."

She nodded and dropped the issue. He seemed to be particularly sensitive when talking about his own health. She had noticed this too when she had asked him what he had been in hospital for when Prim had looked after him. He had become closed and distant. Katniss made a mental note to ask Prim if she remembered this particular patient of hers next time they spoke.

"Anyway," Peeta said, colour returning to his face. "Questions. Whose turn was it?"

"Yours, I think."

"Ok…" He leant back in his chair and appeared to deliberate for a moment. "What would you do if you didn't do what you do?"

Katniss snorted with laughter. "What does that even mean?"

"It's pretty self-explanatory," he replied. "If you weren't a writer, what would you do?"

Katniss had to think rapidly. The honest answer here would probably be that she would have followed in her father's footsteps and become a gamekeeper for one of the many National Trust properties near her home town. She didn't think such an answer would impress Peeta, however. She'd need something far more neutral. "Really hard to say," she said, stalling for time and trying desperately to think of any other talents she possessed. The answer that came to her lips took even her by surprise. "Probably be a singer or something."

"Really?" asked Peeta. "Are you good?"

"Yeah, I'm good," she admitted. She didn't know why she gave away such a private piece of information. Yes, she was a good singer. Damn good. But she didn't ever sing in front of anyone, except her father or her sister. She didn't ever usually admit to being a good singer because the inevitable response was always the same. People would always then ask her to sing them a song, she would refuse, they would claim she was lying. It happened like clockwork, every single time.

"I wish I could sing," said Peeta, sounding wistful; Katniss looked on in surprise as he didn't conform to the regular pattern of demanding to hear her sing. "I've got about as much musical talent as a brick."

"A brick, hey?"

"Yeah," he nodded, looking thoughtful. "I'd say about the same. More or less."

"Wow. That's umm… pretty embarrassing, actually."

"Thanks," he said, a small self-deprecating chuckle escaping his lips. Katniss found herself smiling at his humbleness. It was really rather charming. He pushed his hair back off his face and for the first time Katniss noticed a small tattoo on the inside of his left wrist.

"What's the tattoo?" she asked. He lowered his wrist to show her. The number '269' in black ink. "What is it?" she asked.

"It's a campaign started by Israeli activists," he answered. "Animals aren't named, just numbered. Two-Six-Nine was a calf born to die. This," he said, holding his wrist up to show her, "is a show of solidarity. We're all Two-Six-Nine."

"And do you really think getting a number tattoo will help?"

"I don't know. But it can get people talking, and that can get people thinking. If just one person who sees this and asks about it looks up '269' online and it causes them to change, then it will have been worth it."

_'Naïve,_ ' thought Katniss. ' _Utterly naïve._ ' "Fair enough," she said out loud. "Got any other tattoos?"

"Yes," he answered with a grin, his blue eyes sparkling. "But you don't get to see those. Not when we've only just met."

Katniss felt the heat rise in her cheeks at his words. He had been pretty much continually flirting with her since yesterday, and while she could usually just shrug off such advances, with Peeta it seemed to really unnerve her. Not that she felt uncomfortable with it. She just… she didn't know _how_ she felt about it. She downed the remainder of her coffee in just a couple of large gulps purely for something to do so that she didn't have to reply.

"Ready to go?" she asked when she felt able to talk again.

"Whenever you are. Thank you again for this."

"Don't mention it. It's nice to have the company."

The journey back to London passed quickly and pleasantly. They never tired of things to say; the questions they asked each other became prompts for long conversations rather than quick fire answers, and Katniss found that as she pulled up outside her flat she didn't really want Peeta to leave just yet. She was enjoying his company as a person rather than as a subject for investigation. She felt a twinge of guilt again at the necessary lies she was having to tell him. She swallowed them down as she pulled the car up outside her flat. A need to spend longer with Peeta coursed through her veins and without realising what she was doing, words were pouring from her mouth.

"Would you like to come in for a brew before you head off?" she asked him. "I have herbal tea, or a beer if you'd prefer it?"

He paused for a moment and appeared to be deliberating the offer. "Sure," he said after a while. "That would be really welcome."

Katniss felt a nervous flutter of butterflies in her stomach as they got out of her car and walked towards the communal front door to her flat. Peeta was still walking uncomfortably and she felt yet another surge of guilt. "Ummm, I'm on the third floor, and there's no lift. Will you be ok?"

Peeta laughed. "If you've changed your mind, just say," he said.

"Nope, just trying to be nice is all." She turned the key in the front door and pushed the door open, holding it to allow Peeta to come in. As he crossed the threshold, she felt a massive panic. At this time of day her flatmate, Johanna, would likely be in. The two rarely crossed paths because Johanna worked nights, but if Johanna was in, and awake, she needed to be told to keep her mouth shut. Katniss pulled her phone out of her shoulder bag and using the pretence of checking her post to hang around in the lobby sent a quick text to her flatmate.

_'Am nrly home. Got a guy with me. I'M VEGGIE. Dnt ask, xplain later. It's not what u think.'_

She picked up a few envelopes that looked like nothing more interesting than bills, and her phone immediately vibrated. She checked the message from Johanna.

_'Sly little minx! My lips are sealed.'_

Breathing a little sigh of relief, Katniss indicated to Peeta to follow her and she started to walk up the stairs towards her flat. She kept her pace slow so Peeta could keep up with her and took another deep breath before opening the door to her flat. She hoped beyond hope that Johanna was on her best behaviour.

The sound of a television blaring out from the living room assaulted their ears as they entered. Johanna was still in pyjamas and was watching Jeremy Kyle and cackling at the screen.

"I have no idea why you watch this crap, Jo," said Katniss as she walked in to the room.

"I have no idea why you don't," she responded. "Nothing better than laughing at chavs to make your own problems seem insignificant." Peeta stepped in to the room behind Katniss, and immediately Johanna's face cracked in to a devilish smile. "Hello," she said. "Is this why you didn't come home last night, Katniss?" she asked suggestively.

"Kat-,em>niss?" said Peeta. "Unusual. I thought 'Kat' stood for Katie or Kathryn or something."

"Unusual, hey? Like Mellark's a really common surname."

He frowned slightly. "I don't remember giving you my surname."

' _Shit_ ,' thought Katniss desperately. Everything about Peeta was disarming her, making her make rookie level mistakes. "Yeah you did," she said with absolute conviction. "When you introduced yourself."

"Really?" Peeta seemed to be searching for the memory which obviously didn't exist, but he didn't question it further. "I think I must be losing it," he said with another of his self-deprecating smiles.

Katniss breathed an inward sigh of relief and invited him to sit down. "What can I get you?"

"Coffee," shouted Johanna, while turning her attention back to the television.

"Peeta?" she asked as he took a seat in an armchair.

"What have you got?"

"I've got a lemon, ginger and honey herbal tea?"

He looked a little apologetic as he said, "I don't do honey."

' _Bloody hell_ ,' she thought, ' _What the hell is wrong with honey?_ ' "OK," she said out loud. "It's after midday _and_ it's a Sunday so we could have a beer without feeling guilty?"

"What kind of beer do you have?"

"Why, what could possibly be wrong with beer?"

"Ugh, it's really gross, some of them have fish guts in."

This was news to Katniss, and despite the fact she loved seafood, she had to agree that putting fish in beer seemed pretty disgusting. "Grolsch?"

"Perfect," replied Peeta.

Katniss took two cans from the fridge. "Do you need a glass?" she called out.

"No, it's fine, thank you."

She flicked the kettle on for Johanna's coffee then returned to join Peeta in the living room. She handed him the ice cold can and said "Cheers," raising the tin to her own lips.

"Cheers," he replied, taking a long swig.

"So," piped up Johanna, tearing her eyes away from the television once more. "You don't eat fish?"

"Nope."

"Never?"

"Not in the last twenty-two years, at least."

"Well then, Kat," she said with a smirk, "If he won't eat fish, I'd give up now if I was you. No point chasing after a guy who won't go down."

At that precise moment Katniss had been taking a sip from her can, and Johanna's words caused her to splutter on the drink and nearly spit it back out again. Peeta seemed much more difficult to shock. "Well, if it's being given willingly, and no one had to die or suffer for me to eat it, I can't see a problem."

Katniss blushed furiously, remembering all of Peeta's innuendos from the day before. He and Jo would get on like a house on fire. That thought annoyed her more than she felt it should.

Johanna smiled approvingly. "Oooh! It's back on! Still though, Kat, maybe you should still give up? Wouldn't mind this one myself."

Katniss felt a furious flash of annoyance. "Don't you have anywhere else you'd rather be, Jo?"

"Fine," she smirked, as she stood up and made to walk out of the living room. "I'll leave you two kids at it. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." She winked at Katniss on her way out, and giggled to herself as she left, her laughter ringing down the hall until she got to her own bedroom and shut the door.

"I am so, so sorry about that," said Katniss, still blushing from her head to her toes.

Peeta, chuckled into his beer. "It's really no problem. I try to give as good as I get. It's a great defence mechanism." He paused to drink from the tin. "Thanks again for the lift and the drink. I'll repay you sometime, I promise."

"Don't mention it, you make for a great travel partner," Katniss replied, and she meant it. The guilt at what she was doing began to gnaw at her insides again. Peeta seemed like a really decent guy, idealistic and naïve, certainly, but not a bad type. When the truth of her expose came out, he seemed like the type who would really take it to heart. She had experienced no qualms about her stories before, but then she had been so obviously on the right side before. Just a few hours in Peeta's company had caused her to start to question the morality of the cull.

No. She had to start thinking clearly, get her head in the game. Government scientists, advisors, health care professionals… all of them agreed that the cull was necessary to reduce the spread of bovine TB, and the associated risks to humans. There was a fact, right there. Another fact; Peeta had a criminal record, there was no getting away from it. He had been arrested again just the day before and had been blasé about the fact, as if he knew full well and didn't care that it would likely happen again. And he certainly wasn't the only one; many of the activists on her file were also criminals, and Katniss exposed criminals to the public. It was what she did. And would do again. It was just that she was used to her subjects having far worse character flaws than a simplistic ideology. Nor were they ever as charismatic or charming. Or good-looking.

' _Good looking_?' she thought, ' _Where did that come from_?' She risked a glance at him. She'd never really been one for blond hair or blue eyes before, and he was a little shorter than her usual type, but he wasn't _bad_ looking. Her eyes roamed over his broad shoulders, the defined muscles visible through his t-shirt. She took in his shaggy mane of curls, and watched as he raised the can of beer to his lips. A fine smattering of blond stubble covered his jaw and upper lip. For a moment she wondered whether it would be soft or scratchy and she had the urge to reach out to him and stroke it to find out.

"Are you ok?" Peeta's voice invaded her thoughts and brought her back to reality.

"Fine," she gushed, her voice strangely breathy and high pitched, and she cursed herself for behaving like a schoolgirl around him. "I was miles away, sorry."

"Did you hear anything I was just saying?"

"You were speaking?" Katniss felt the heat rise in her cheeks again. Had she really been that lost in his appearance that she hadn't noticed him speak? "God, I'm really sorry, I really was on another planet."

"It's fine," he laughed. "I have that effect on people."

"Wow. Conceited much?"

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "You've lost me. What?"

"Well, you assume everyone must be so distracted by you that… Oh god. That's not what you meant at all, was it?" said Katniss, turning an even deeper shade of red.

Peeta couldn't hide the amusement on his face. "I just meant people tend to switch off when I start babbling. But I like your theory better."

"Can we just pretend this conversation didn't happen?" asked Katniss. She took several large gulps of beer, finishing her can quickly. "Do you want another?" she asked Peeta.

"I've still got half of this, thanks," he replied, as Katniss quickly went to the kitchen to fetch a second drink. ' _So much for professionalism_ ,' she thought as she grabbed a can from the fridge.

On her return she said, "So what were you saying, before I made a complete tit of myself?"

"I just thought I should get your number. You got mine from Thresh, right?"

"Ummm, nope, he didn't."

"Really?" Peeta looked really hurt by the revelation. "For fuck's sake. I asked him to."

"Maybe he just forgot."

"Or maybe he just doesn't want me talking to you. Fucking hell. Well screw him." He took his phone out and immediately put it away again looking exasperated. "The bloody battery on this thing is utter shite. Have you got a pen?"

Katniss fetched a pen and paper, scribbled her number hastily down and handed it to Peeta, who immediately returned the favour. "You will call, right?" he asked

"Of course I will."

"Good. 'Cause, you know, I should probably be trying to head home."

"Oh," said Katniss, and the disappointment she worked in to her voice wasn't entirely faked. The can and a half of beer she had drunk was making her head pleasantly fuzzy. "Let me walk you to the station." She rose unsteadily to her feet, and almost immediately stumbled over again.

Peeta leaped to his feet and held her arm to steady her. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," she giggled. "Just got up too quick."

"And drunk that beer too quick, am I right?"

"Maybe," she grinned.

"I can't let you walk me anywhere like this, give me directions and I'll find it."

"Now what kind of hostess would I be if I did that to you?"

"A beautifully drunk one. And what kind of gentlemen would I be if I insisted on you coming with me?"

"Ummmm…."

"Exactly. Just point me in the right direction. I'll find it."

Katniss felt a surge of annoyance at his kindness. If he was easier to hate she wouldn't feel so guilty at the lies. And maybe if he wasn't so close, and his lips didn't look so inviting… She reached out to touch his face and was pleased to find out how soft the stubble on his face was. She couldn't focus on anything but his lips and moved her own lips closer to his.

"As I said," Peeta's voice broke through her reverie as he pulled away from her, "I think you may have drunk that beer too quickly." He was smiling sweetly at her, a smile tinged with a little regret.

Katniss felt mortified at herself. How had she nearly let herself go so thoroughly? Why was Peeta having this effect on her? He was right, of course, she would never have behaved in such a way were she sober. Many men would have happily taken advantage of the situation and she felt yet more guilt and anger at him for not doing so. She had to get him away from her now so that she might think logically about the situation.

She grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled directions to the station on it. Handing it to him she simply said, "See you sometime, then," before showing him to the front door. He looked a little hurt and confused by her sudden change of attitude. Good. He was getting under her skin too much already. She needed to distance herself from him. Get the professional head back on.

"Thank you again," he said quietly as she closed the door on him. She immediately felt overcome and ran to her room, furious with herself for treating him so shabbily and furious at her own emotions for betraying her.

As she wiped the angry and shameful tears from her face she made a decision. No matter how kind, no matter how sweet, no matter funny or how _good looking_ Peeta was, she would not allow herself to lower her defences to him again.


	7. Chapter 6 - Peeta

Peeta was a country boy at heart. He'd been raised in the countryside, and had missed it desperately when he moved to Leeds to do his degree. Having to travel through London was never something he especially enjoyed. Thankfully Katniss really didn't live too far from a tube station which took the pressure off having to walk a vast distance, but it didn't help the anxiety he always felt at being trapped underground in such a built up area. He checked the map - thirteen stops until Tottenham Court Road, change for the Central Line, then five stops to Liverpool Street where he would be able to get a train home.

He settled back in his seat and his mind was filled with Katniss. She had tried to kiss him and he had shrugged off her advances. Why had he done such a thing? Truth was he had panicked. It was all well and good pretending to have confidence with women, but Peeta couldn't handle the idea of being rejected. He didn't allow intimacy because he knew the inevitable outcome.

He was convinced that Jenn had left him as he lay in hospital because he was no longer whole. He hadn't seen her since before the accident; every attempt he had made to contact her afterwards had been met with her hanging up the phone, refusing his calls, refusing to see him at all. She had even sent friends round to collect her possessions instead of doing it herself. And if the woman he had spent most of his adult life with would leave him because he wasn't whole, if the idea of being with a man with an artificial leg was repellent to a woman who had agreed to marry him, what chance did he possibly have with a new woman?

Two years, seven months, four days. That was how long he had been celibate. And it was killing him. They had last made love on Jenn's birthday, about six weeks before his accident. Maybe he should have seen the break-up coming… She had been spurning his advances for so long, but always seemed to have such a good reason… But it didn't cushion the blow of waking up in hospital, alone and with no explanation. It also hadn't made the next two and a half dry years any easier. No wonder being so close to such a beautiful woman as Katniss had been causing his body to react the way it had. But how could he possibly allow her to get close to him? She would find out about him and she would be disgusted and Peeta would once again be left heartbroken. No. It was better to stop her getting that close to begin with.

But… What if…? What if she could get past what he himself could not?

Peeta shook himself back to reality. He had known Katniss a day, and he was already imagining some future together where she didn't care about his disability. He almost laughed out loud at how ridiculous he was being.

And yet he had never felt so comfortable with another woman so quickly. He already felt as if he had known Katniss forever and already couldn't imagine not knowing her.

It was just after three o'clock by the time he finally reached Liverpool Street Station. The next train back to Ipswich would leave at half past, which gave him just enough time to buy a ticket and telephone Finn on a payphone. He dialled his own landline number and hoped that Finnick was around to receive the call. The phone rang several times, and Peeta was on the verge of giving up when finally it was answered.

"Hello?"

"Finn, it's me."

"Where the fuck have you been?"

"Travelling."

"Thanks for letting us know."

"Shut up mate, my phone died. Anyway I'm getting a train in about twenty minutes. Can you pick me up from the station?"

The sound of a sigh came down the phone line. "What time?"

"I don't know when it gets in. Maybe five-ish? Look it up."

"You know, I should start charging you for this."

"I'll pay you back in cake and kindness."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Thanks Finn. I owe you."

Peeta hung up the phone and looked around at the various shops and cafes in the station. He wandered in to a WHSmith and purchased a small plain paper notebook and some pencils, so that he might have something to do on the train journey home, then found a bench where he could sit and watch the clock tick past until he was able to get on his train.

He wondered precisely what Katniss was up to at that moment. Was she thinking of him? He hoped so. He pulled out of his pocket the slip of paper with her number and stared at it, tracing his finger over the digits that had been formed by her own delicate hands. How long should he wait to call her? Today was too soon, surely? What about tomorrow? Would overt eagerness put her off? But if he kept her waiting too long would she assume he wasn't interested?

He brought himself back to reality again. Katniss blatantly wouldn't be interested in him in anything other than a professional capacity. The only reason she had tried to kiss him was the drink. That was all.

He checked the departure board and was pleased to see that his train was finally here waiting at the platform with ten minutes to go. He was able to amble slowly to the platform without causing too much extra stress or discomfort to his leg.

On finding a seat he immediately took out his sketch book and began to doodle. Nothing especially concrete at first, just lines, shapes, forms, until out of the jumbled stream of consciousness emerged a recognisable object. The almond shape of a human eye. He paused and looked for a moment then furiously began to work on this image; a little extra shading here, the detail of long lashes there. Before too long the perfect image of a sparkling grey eye was leaping off the page.

It hadn't been his intention to draw her or indeed anything to do with her, but it was unmistakeably Katniss. He gently and reverently closed the sketchbook and withdrew the folded up slip of paper bearing her number again. His heart beat faster and his mouth had gone dry but he promised himself he would call her the next day. It wouldn't be weird or overly keen; she was supposed to be writing this article after all. He kept reminding himself of this fact over and over again; her interest in him was strictly professional, getting his hopes up for anything more was pointless. By the time he arrived back at Ipswich Station Finn was already waiting for him out the front. Peeta's limp was more pronounced than ever, but much to his relief Finnick knew far better than to show sympathy.

"Hurry it up, hop-along," he called out as soon as he spotted Peeta.

"Thanks again for this," replied Peeta as he clambered in to the front seat of Finn's car.

"Don't mention it." Finn started the engine and pulled away from the station, and as he did a mischievous gleam came in his eye. "So, tell me more about this fit bird then."

Peeta allowed a small, bashful smile to turn the corners of his mouth up. "She gave me a lift as far as London."

"She what? Bloody hell, Peet, how'd you manage to pull that one out the bag?"

"It was just coincidence. She happened to be driving past and she offered me a lift to the station, then said that as she was heading to London anyway did I want to keep her company."

"Please tell me you got her number. Tell me you're seeing her again."

Peeta was both grateful and annoyed in equal measures at Finnick's enthusiasm. After his break up, Finnick and Annie had been Peeta's rocks. They had helped him through the darkest and toughest times, they had seen him at his absolute lowest and they had helped lift him back up. Lately Finnick had been getting concerned at Peeta's apparent refusal to find a new partner and had tried setting him up with various women. He was grateful to Finnick for his concern; after all, Finn only wanted to make sure he was happy, but he felt annoyance at the insinuation that he wasn't capable of dealing with a woman himself. He also knew that Finnick would not like the answer he had to give. "Yes, I got her number, but it isn't like that."

"What do you mean, 'it isn't like that?'"

Peeta explained about Katniss being a writer, about how she wanted to expand her repertoire in to doing much deeper and more meaningful pieces, and how she was going to write an article on them, focusing primarily on the badger culls but that it would help bring a wider range of AR issues to a much larger audience. He spoke at length and passionately as if it were the most obvious and natural thing in the world, to invite a stranger in to their lives to report on their activities which, although morally justified, were varying shades of grey in the eyes of the law.

"Well just be careful, ok mate?" said Finn as they finally pulled up in the drive outside Peeta's cottage.

"You sound like Thresh," Peeta replied.

"And he's a sensible man."

"Since when did you care about sensible?"

"Touché," replied Finnick as they walked the path to Peeta's front door. "So this chick? It'll be strictly professional? You don't reckon you've got a shot?"

"No, it's not like that at all. Although," said Peeta, as Finnick searched for Peeta's front door key, "she did try and kiss me."

Finnick dropped the keys and stood staring at Peeta in stunned silence.

"But it didn't mean anything. She was a bit drunk."

"Wait, what? You went for a drink with her?" asked Finnick, bending down to pick up the dropped keys.

"Not exactly. We went back to hers."

Finnick smirked as he opened the front door. "So this girl drives you halfway across the country, invites you back to hers for a drink, tries to kiss you and you still think her interest is strictly professional? Come on mate, even you can't be that stupid."

Peeta's heart sunk hearing Finnick's words. Everything always seemed so black and white coming from him. "I think I may have fucked up," he said quietly as he closed the door behind him.

Finnick sighed, "What did you do?"

"I rejected her. She tried to kiss me and I pulled away and she threw me out."

"I take it back. Maybe you can be that stupid." Seeing the dejected look on his friend's face, Finnick said, "Look. I'll stick the kettle on, you go shower and if you play your cards right I'll let you cook me and Annie dinner. Sounds fair?"

Peeta nodded a little sadly and started the climb upstairs. Once in the bathroom he quickly undressed then perched on the edge of the bath to remove his prosthetic. He breathed a small sigh of relief as the artificial leg came away; his skin underneath it was raw and chapped, and now that he had removed the prosthetic limb his own leg seemed to thrum even more painfully.

He reached behind him and turned the bath taps on adjusting the temperature so that it was warm but not hot, then switched the water from the bath taps to the shower extension. He swung himself around and hauled himself up on to his good leg using the handles he'd had installed to the bathroom walls; along with the pair of crutches he kept upstairs this was his only concession in his home to his disability. He allowed the temperate water to cascade over him and felt himself becoming more and more human with every passing moment.

He began to replay the events of the previous day in his mind, but the one fact he kept coming back to was that Katniss had tried to kiss him. Finnick was right. He was stupid as fuck for rejecting her. He closed his eyes and imagined what might have happened if he hadn't acted like a twelve year old, and if he'd allowed her advances.

Her lips would have felt full, soft and warm. She would have tasted slightly bittersweet from the lager, which would have lowered her inhibitions. Her tongue would have probed his first and he would have responded in kind. Her hands would have explored his back, woven their way into his hair, stroked down his chest, across his stomach, gliding lower and lower….

His own hand mirrored that of his imaginary Katniss. He grasped his erection firmly around the shaft, pulling slowly up towards the head. He swirled his thumb over the tip several times, and Katniss was on her knees in front of him, her tongue lapping up the pre-cum which she greedily swallowed.

He almost lost his balance and had to quickly grab hold of one of the wall handles to steady himself. Last thing he needed after everything else was for his best mate to find him collapsed on the floor, injured after jerking off in the shower. He lowered himself to sit on the edge of the bath and took himself in his own grip once more.

He started slowly at first. Katniss was wearing a short skirt, and she bent over to pick something up. Peeta caught a flash of her tight underwear hugging the curves of her backside. He increased his speed slightly, running his thumb over the head every now and then as Katniss was now in her underwear. She was wearing black lace panties and a matching bra, with suspenders and seamed stockings, and she was slowly rolling those stockings down her exquisite long legs. She looked up at him and the words 'I want you' fell from her lips. His free hand moved across his stomach, and ran up and down his thighs, and now she was naked, riding him hard, her breasts bouncing up and down, her braid undone and her tousled hair tumbling down her shoulders. His fist pumped harder and faster, his breath quickening and now Katniss was on her hands and knees looking back over her shoulder at him. "Fuck me, Peeta." It was too much for him. The pressure inside him increased in intensity and he came hard, biting down on his lip to stop himself calling out.

Breathing heavily, he watched as the shower washed away his ejaculate then turned the temperature down lower. His body shook with the intensity of the feelings washing over him but he forced himself to stand upright again and washed as quickly as he could comfortably manage in the cold water.

He perched on the edge of the bath and swung himself back around again to get out. He wrapped a towel around his waist, grabbed the crutches and navigated his way back towards his bedroom. One of his cats was lying down on his bed and raised a sleepy head as Peeta entered.

"Hey Bungle," he said to the cat, scratching him behind the ears. The cat made a pleasured mewling sound, flipped himself over on to his back and looked up expectantly. Peeta smiled at the cat. If Bungle had his way, Peeta would be his personal belly scratcher twenty-four hours a day. "Not right now, boyo," he said, unable to resist giving him a little rub. Bungle purred appreciatively.

He quickly dressed in a pair of loose fitting jogging pants and a clean t-shirt. Using the crutches he made it to the top of the stairs and paused in front of the bathroom door. He had left his prosthetic propped up in the bathroom, and really didn't want to have to reattach it tonight if he didn't have to. He made a decision to leave it off and give his skin the chance to breathe so sat at the top of the stairs and shimmied his way back down one step at a time.

Finnick was sat in Peeta's living room, three invitingly large mugs of tea on a tray on the coffee table in front of him.

"Where's Annie?" asked Peeta.

"She's out the back feeding the hens, she'll be in soon."

Peeta sat down a little awkwardly. Finnick and Annie were the only two people in the world he would even consider allowing to see him without his prosthetic, but he still didn't enjoy it. It seemed to bother him a lot more than it did either of his best friends but he could still feel his face begin to flush as he lowered himself in to the armchair. He reached forward, grabbed a mug of tea and settled back. As soon as he did so another of his cats came bounding in to the room making a series of meows in a long sentence.

"Did you miss me, boy?" he asked as the cat jumped up on his lap and immediately started to knead his stomach. These three brother cats rescued from the sack at the side of the road had all developed such incredible and distinct personalities and it pained him to be apart from them for too long.

"So, what's for dinner?" asked Finnick, causing Peeta to look up from the attention he was lavishing upon the noisy cat.

"Dunno. What did you want?"

"Pizza."

"That'll take forever. I need to make the dough, let it rise at least two hours, knock it back and let it rise again. It'll be late before it's ready."

"So I guess that'd mean Annie and I would have to stay another night then, huh?"

"Cheeky bastard," said Peeta, but he couldn't help but smile.

"Pizza it is then. You better get on it, mate."

"Anything else, my liege?"

"Yeah, make us some of that garlic dipping sauce while you're at it."

"Fuck you," he said, grinning. He took a long sip of his tea and was immensely grateful for the charade Finnick was putting on. It gave him an excuse to not be alone that night.

The evening passed amicably, with the three of them watching films, playing Xbox and sharing the enormous amounts of homemade pizza, several glasses of wine each and an impromptu apple crumble Peeta made at Annie's request, but in the back of his mind Peeta couldn't help but wonder how much better the evening would have be if he wasn't always playing the third wheel.


	8. Chapter 7 - Peeta

Finnick and Annie had left straight after breakfast the following morning to go to work and Peeta began to feel the strain almost straight away. There was just so much to do. First of all his dog, Belle, had to be walked, then when they got back he would start by feeding and mucking out the pigs, followed by the hens. The cats needed a change of litter, the rabbits and guinea pigs needed their hutches cleaning out and then to be put out in the runs for a few hours during which they would need supervision, he had a few call backs to make to people who had contacted him through Cats Protection and could potentially rehome one of the nine cats he was currently fostering. He would then have to try and do the accounts, separate ones for the main sanctuary and Cats Protection, all the animals would need feeding again, Belle would need a second walk and if he had time left in the day he had three separate pet portrait commissions to make a start on.

He was sat at the kitchen table taking a well-earned five minutes when the telephone rang again. All morning he had been plagued by some stupid kid prank callers who were clearly skiving off school and who were alleviating their boredom by calling every now and then. He'd put an ad out recently in a few local papers and on Gumtree asking for volunteers to help out and donate any time they could. These kids had obviously found his number through one of these ads and thought it would be the height of hilarity to call the person asking for help to look after rescued animals and giggle the word 'bacon' down the phone at him. This would be the twelfth time and Peeta had had enough. He grabbed the phone and before the kids could talk he cut them off. "Bacon, right? Yeah, nice one. Really fucking original. You know, when I was a kid if we played truant we'd actually go out and enjoy ourselves, but I guess you're too busy sat on your fat little arses to even know what outside is. I'd call you a pair of wankers but I doubt you've got anything down there you could find without a microscope. Fuck off and get a fucking life, you hear me?"

Silence for a moment then, "Peeta? It's me. Ummm… Katniss."

Time seemed to freeze for a moment and he wanted to bang his head down hard on the table. He couldn't remember ever feeling so utterly mortified and tried to swallow the lump that had appeared in his throat, but his mouth had gone dry. "Hey," he said, his tone the absolute opposite of what it had been previously. "Oh god, I'm really sorry. I was expecting someone else."

"Clearly. Tough morning?"

"Yeah," he said, laughing nervously, "yeah, you could say that."

Katniss echoed his nervous laughter. "Look," she said. "About yesterday. It was incredibly unprofessional of me, and I would understand if you didn't want me to interview you…"

"No!" said Peeta, although he couldn't help but feel sadness at her words as she defined the now expected boundaries. She was an interviewer. He was the subject. It would never be anything more than that. "I know you didn't mean it, of course I still want to do this."

"Ok, well, name a date you're free, and I'll see what I can do."

"Literally any time. I'm home every day, so whenever you can get here." As the words came from his lips he felt himself cringing at how desperate it sounded.

"How are you for next week?"

"Seriously, any time at all."

"Next Monday?"

"Perfect."

She took Peeta's address and promised to call with an expected time of arrival when she was going to leave. As Peeta hung up his heart beat a little faster. He'd be seeing her again in a week! He looked up at the calendar on his kitchen wall as if doing so would somehow make time speed up. He stood up and wrote 'Katniss' in the space next to Monday's date and immediately wished he hadn't. The rest of the calendar was conspicuously blank, and he didn't particularly want her to see that she was his one engagement all month. He promised himself he would hide the calendar before she arrived, but in the meantime he smiled to himself at the sight of her name.

After changing the litter in the CPL enclosures he made himself a quick sandwich and took the weight off his feet. He heard the sound of a familiar car pull up in the driveway outside; a loud chugging noise that spluttered once or twice as the engine was turned off. Thresh's camper van. He took a bite out of his sandwich, left it on the side and stood up to meet his friend in the driveway.

Thresh was carrying a rucksack of Peeta's clothes that he'd left in the van after being escorted away from the protest on Saturday. "Cheers, mate," he said as he took his possessions back. "Do you want a tea or anything?"

"Yeah, perfect."

They went inside and Peeta flicked the kettle on, noticing with amusement that his sandwich was missing from where he had left it, and Belle was curled up on the floor looking immensely proud and licking her lips.

"So what happened with the cops then?" Thresh asked, snapping Peeta back to attention.

"Not much, the usual bollocking, but I hadn't done anything and they knew it. Released me with a caution the next morning. What happened with you guys?"

"Sun went down, and the men with guns came out. There were only about five of them, but we made as much noise as we could before we were forced to move along. Hopefully the badgers were scared underground long enough to give them a chance to make it."

Peeta nodded and at that moment his phone rang again. "For fuck's sake," he exhaled.

"What is it?"

Peeta explained briefly about the prank calls he'd been receiving.

"Here," said Thresh, indicating the phone. Peeta handed it to him. "Hello?" A moment of silence, then Peeta could just about hear the giggling indicative of his two pranksters. "This is DCI Wilton of the Suffolk Constabulary, we've received a complaint regarding distressing phone calls originating from your telephone number." Another beat of silence. "They hung up. I don't think you'll be hearing from them again."

"Cheers," said Peeta, grinning as he set a mug of tea down in front of Thresh.

"So did you have much difficulty getting back?"

"No, not too bad," replied Peeta, unsure of whether or not he should mention Katniss.

"Good."

At that moment both Thresh and Peeta received a text message. Peeta looked at his phone. It was from Finnick and read, ' _Film night next Monday! The Great Escape! Bring popcorn._ ' It was code. Finnick was talking about liberating imprisoned animals, most likely battery farmed hens, next Monday night. 'Popcorn' was the code for the usual equipment; bolt cutters, carry cases, blankets…. Of course he wanted to but… why Monday? Out of any day at all, every single other free night he had, why the one where Katniss would be coming to visit? Unless… would she be willing to come along too?

"You in, then?" asked Thresh as he put his phone away.

Peeta didn't answer straight away. His eyes flickered over to the calendar where he had written 'Katniss' next to Monday. Thresh's gaze followed Peeta's and read what was written there. "Katniss?" he said, his brow furrowed for a second until understanding washed over him. "Kat? That writer chick? How'd she contact you?"

"No thanks to you, it seems," blurted out Peeta. His cheeks were burning furiously and he was shaking with a boiling mix of hurt and embarrassment.

"I don't trust her."

"Well I do."

"Why?" he demanded. "What did she do to convince you in just a couple of hours that she isn't like every other parasitic journalist out there?"

"I don't know! I just trust her, that's all."

Thresh threw his hands up in exasperation. "Jeez, Peet, people need to earn trust! You can't just give away everything on a feeling!"

"I'm not!" he protested

"Sure looks that way to me."

Peeta clutched the edge of the kitchen table for support, still shaking with supressed anger.

"Look, I get it, Peet. I really do. You're lonely. You spend most days on your own with no human contact and have done since Jenn left you. You've been lonely for far too long and this girl comes along and shows the slightest bit of interest and you've latched on to it. But she doesn't want what you do, and I don't want to see you get hurt."

Peeta was silent for a moment or two. "I think you should leave," he said quietly. He turned away from Thresh and walked out back, trying to maintain a cool and calm demeanour. He waited until he could hear Thresh start up the engine of his van until he allowed the tears to fall. Maybe Thresh was right? He'd lost so much in his life because of Jenn. She hadn't been popular amongst his friends at university who had stopped talking to him because they couldn't stand her. After they left uni and he came back to Ipswich with her, his new friends he made at the local sab meetings and vegan pot lucks they'd attend seemed to tolerate her, although she never really seemed to gel with anyone. His brothers had stopped talking to him because he had sold the family home to buy a place for the two of them. But none of it had mattered to him at the time because he had been so sure that the two of them were right. She was so different when she was alone with him, no-one else saw the Jenn that he knew and had loved so deeply and as long as they were together, who cared what the rest of the world thought?

Except he had been wrong about Jenn. He had behaved like such a fool and it had cost him his family and most of his friends. Where had he gone wrong?

Thresh was right. He was lonely. Undeniably so. He threw himself so fully in to caring for his charges that he often didn't have time to stop and realise just how alone he felt, but right now the full force of it hit him like a sledgehammer. And if Thresh was right about him being lonely was he also right about Katniss? Was it dangerous to allow a writer, a journalist, to get close to him?

He wiped the tears away from his face in frustration. He was far too busy to be wallowing in self-pity. He would do precisely what he always did, put a brave face on and present a care-free attitude to the world, despite the fact that he felt as though he was crumbling inside. And when Monday came, well… What would be would be.


	9. Chapter 8 - Katniss

During her usual mid-drive caffeine break Katniss telephoned Peeta. He didn't answer quite as abruptly as he did the last time she had telephoned but he still sounded incredibly harassed.

The phone rang several times before he answered. "Hello?" he said, his voice dripping with impatience.

"Hey, it's Katniss."

Once again the tone in his voice changed the second he realised who he was speaking to. "Hey. Shit, I'm sorry if I sounded off."

"Another rough morning? Or do you always answer the phone this way?"

"No, you were right first time. I'm sorry. Really stressful morning."

Katniss took a deep breath to calm herself and swallow her annoyance back down. She should have called before she had driven halfway to the middle of nowhere. "If it's inconvenient we can always rearrange," she said out loud.

"Oh, no, no it's fine. Please just ignore me. I'll deal with it. I'm sorry. What time do you think you'll be here?"

"I can be there in about an hour."

"An hour? Really?"

"If that's too soon…"

"No," he interrupted her. "No, it'll be fine. The house is a mess though, I should warn you."

"If you're sure…"

"I'm sure."

"Ok. See you in about an hour, then."

"See you."

Katniss hit the end call button and sighed deeply. Without even trying Peeta had gotten under her skin once again. She had spent the past week trying to push away the memory of how she had wanted him, and tried to kiss him, but every time she did all she could think of was how long his eyelashes were, how good he smelled despite having been wearing that ridiculous costume and not having showered, how soft the stubble on his face had been, how much she had fantasised about how good that stubble might feel brushing over her inner thighs…

She shook herself back to reality. She was here to do a job. That was all. And if Peeta just so happened to be easy on the eyes… so be it. It didn't change the fact that he was a radical and a petty criminal.

She sighed again. Was he really such a radical? The way he had explained his position, albeit briefly, last week had all seemed so reasonable, if a little naïve. With his adoration of all living things, her sister, Prim, would adore him if she got to know him outside of work. She still hadn't asked Prim about his stay in the hospital two and a half years prior. It somehow didn't seem right… And besides, Prim would be unlikely to betray a patient's confidentiality. She'd see how today went. She'd been planning on surprising her little sister later anyway, seeing as she was in the area she thought an unannounced visit would go down extremely well. Maybe a glass or two of wine and Prim would forget all about patient confidentiality.

The drive to Suffolk passed by quickly as the landscape soon turned to rolling hills and meadows, field after field after field segregated by neat little hedgerows, and dotted here and there with pastel coloured Tudor cottages.

Peeta's cottage was easy to find. A sign at the end of a driveway read "Hollywells Cottage" and underneath a hand painted sign with a beautiful painting of a pot-bellied pig that also read "Hollywells Animal Sanctuary." Katniss read this with a little surprise. He hadn't mentioned at any point that he ran an animal sanctuary. Next to this was the bright yellow and blue official notice board of the Cats Protection League. Katniss shuddered. She hated cats, and they knew it and hated her in response. She returned her attention to the other painted sign and wondered if Peeta had painted it himself. If he did he certainly hadn't been exaggerating his talent. She took a deep breath and turned her car in to the driveway, parking beside an unwashed Peugeot 306. She stepped out of her car and looked around. It certainly was peaceful here. Two large elm trees grew either side of the driveway entrance, and coupled with the large hedges completely blocked the cottage itself from view from the road. The front garden was a little overgrown, but nothing that a solid day's work couldn't fix. Little bushes of primroses were interspersed with bluebells, poppies and other wildflowers. The cottage itself was a pale pink, although the majority was hidden behind a wall of ivy steadily creeping higher.

Katniss shouldered her satchel and strode up to the front door, knocked and waited. From behind the door a dog barked. Seconds later she heard Peeta's voice give the command "Wait. Wait." She could see him silhouetted through the glass in the door, and he paused a moment, clearly waiting for the dog to obey his command. As he opened the door she prepared herself for the sight of him, not wanting to appear anything less than entirely professional.

His appearance shook her. His hair was dishevelled, his skin blotchy, his eyes puffy and red. He'd clearly been crying. "Hey," he said, sniffing slightly. "Come on in."

Whatever had upset him, he had made no attempt whatsoever to hide it. Katniss followed him over the threshold and was almost immediately bowled over by a flash of chocolate brown fur. "Down, girl," he said, bending down and ruffling the dogs fur. "This is Belle," he said, while scratching behind the dog's ears. "She's a bit of a rough-houser, but she doesn't bite. Can I get you anything?"

"Errmm…"

"Tea? Coffee?"

"Coffee would be great, than you."

He stood up and wiped his eyes on the back of his hand. "This way."

She followed him down the hall and noticed that whatever had injured him last week had obviously healed ok as he seemed to be walking with no difficulty at all. They entered a large traditional style kitchen and Katniss had to repress a shudder when she noticed a large black and white cat on the kitchen table. Peeta ushered the beast away and said, "Is instant ok? I'm not much of a coffee drinker."

"That's fine."

She watched as he pottered around the kitchen, his breathing slightly ragged and sniffing every now and then. "Is everything ok?" she asked. "I mean, is there anything I can do?"

"No," he answered, trying to smile. The action seemed to cause him more pain and he turned away from her and wiped his eyes again. "I'm really sorry. It's just been a really tough morning. I wasn't planning on being like this."

"What's happened?"

"I ummm…. I was robbed yesterday. I only realised this morning."

"Shit. Did they take much?"

"A few bits and pieces. My grandmother's engagement ring's gone. My dad's watch. Some money that I hadn't got round to banking yet. That's her." He pointed to a pencil drawing on the table of a woman in her late teens or early twenties.

"Did you do this?" She asked as she picked up the drawing and studied it. Peeta nodded. "You saw her here?"

Peeta nodded again. "She was working here. Well. Volunteering at least. She only started on Friday. She seemed really nice. I had to go out yesterday and trusted her enough to leave her alone, and when I got back she'd gone. Left a note saying she'd had a family emergency. I tried to call her to check she was ok but couldn't get through. I didn't think anything of it until this morning and realised things had been left in different places in my room."

"You've spoken to the police?"

"Uh-huh. They were here this morning. I gave them everything I know about her but she'd given me a false telephone number, and it turns out a pseudonym too. There is no 'Clove Jackson.' She played me for a fool from the start."

Katniss felt that guilt gnaw at her again, even more profoundly. "Are you insured?" she asked as she tried to push the guilt away.

Peeta smiled tightly. "I doubt my insurance company are going to pay out when I tell them I willingly let a stranger in to my home and left them alone here. The loss of the money's going to make the month tough, but the ring and the watch… I can't replace those, you know?" He wiped his face again and turned away as the kettle clicked off. He spooned some instant coffee granules in to a mug and put a tea bag in a separate one and poured boiling water in to the two. "Sugar?"

"Two, please."

"Milk?"

"Please."

"What would you prefer?" he asked, opening his fridge and examining the contents. "I've got plain soy, vanilla soy, chocolate soy, coconut, rice, almond, or hazelnut."

Katniss was a little taken aback by the choice. "What would you recommend?"

"Probably the hazelnut," he replied. "But as I said, I'm not much of a coffee drinker."

"Well, I'll trust your judgement."

He sat down at the table, placing a mug of coffee in front of Katniss. As soon as he was sat the black and white cat she'd seen earlier jumped lightly on his lap and kept trying to rub its face on his. He absent-mindedly stroked the thing while staring in to the depths of his mug.

"Errm, if this is too much for you today I can come back another time?"

He looked up as if only just remembering that she was there. "No, it's fine. I mean, I'll have to work but we can talk while I work, right? Clove was supposed to be here today. It would have made everything easier…"

Despite the fact that it was precisely what she needed to get information herself, she felt a huge rush of pity at his gullibility. People shouldn't be so trusting… "How did she start working here?"

Peeta shrugged. "I needed some help. I can't afford to pay anyone but the sanctuary is a registered charity so I put an ad out for volunteers. She was the only response I got, but she seemed perfect. Just out of college, taking a year off to get some life experience before going to uni. She picked everything up so quickly, I had no reason not to trust her, you know?" He looked at the drawing he'd done of this mysterious 'Clove.' "I'll pass this on to the police when I can, but I doubt it'll do any good."

"I don't know," said Katniss. "It's bound to be more accurate than any e-fit pictures or descriptions they could come up with"

"It's not that," said Peeta. "The police round here… they aren't all that interested in helping you if you have a record."

Katniss sat up straighter. She already knew about his petty misdemeanours of course, but the fact he was already willing to talk about them was certainly interesting. More indication of the fool's willingness to trust anyone. "Oh?" she said, trying to sound innocent of all knowledge.

"Yeah. Nothing bad," he said hastily. "I mean, I was young and stupid, I thought I could single-handedly rescue a new born calf on a dairy farm before he was sent to slaughter. I couldn't get in to the barn, so I broke in to the farmhouse and thought I'd find keys to open the barn and get him out. I was caught in the act. Looking back I think I was lucky not to get shot, to be honest. I was arrested and sentenced. But I still maintain that trying to save a life shouldn't be a criminal act. Anyway, that incident has followed me for the last eight years and it seems it still is. The police just couldn't care less. I think they see it as a kind of karma. What goes around comes around, you know?"

He took a large gulp of his tea and continued to stroke the cat on his lap who was becoming increasingly vocal. To distract her from glaring at the noisy creature Katniss tried a small sip of her coffee and was pleasantly surprised by how good it tasted.

"So," said Peeta. "What do you want to do? I mean, as difficult as it may be to believe I don't often have journalists knocking at my door wanting to interview me. I'm not really used to this."

"Well," said Katniss, reaching in to her satchel and taking out a notebook and pen, and being incredibly careful not to reveal the files she already had on Peeta and some of his friends, "If you just want to carry on with your day as normal, I can observe, ask questions, and we can take it from there."

"Ok." Peeta downed the remainder of his tea. "You gonna get off me?" he directed to the cat in a sing-song voice. It responded with a meow that almost sounded questioning. "Come on Zippy, you little monster." He scooped the cat up in one arm, pushed his chair backwards and stood up. The cat started chatting even louder in protest at being disturbed. Peeta chuckled as he kissed it on the top of its head and put it down on the floor. Still the cat continued to talk.

"Zippy, eh?" Katniss asked.

"Yeah," replied Peeta. "Because he doesn't-"

"-Shut up," they said in unison.

"His brothers, George and Bungle, are just as appropriately named," said Peeta with a smile, looking fondly at the still mewling cat. "George is a sweetheart, a bit shy, but couldn't be sweeter. Bungle is-"

"A big gay bear?" Katniss offered.

"Got it in one," grinned Peeta. Katniss noticed a marked improvement in Peeta's mood as he spoke about his beloved pets. She felt an unexplainable rush of affection towards the blond man; seeing him happier strangely lifted her own spirits.

He flashed a look at his watch and then pushed his hair back off his face. "I really need to get cracking," he said. "I've lost half the day already. Shall we?" He held up his right arm in an old-fashioned, gentlemanly manner. Katniss smiled and hooked her hand under his elbow. Peeta smiled the most genuine smile she had seen from him all morning and led her towards the back door.

The space he had out back took her breath away. At first it looked like just a reasonably small patio, with a small table and four chairs around it, surrounded by potted plants. A large hedge surrounded the patio but an archway covered with honeysuckle led to the rest of the space. Peeta led her through the archway and Katniss gasped at what she saw.

The garden was enormous and sloped very slowly downwards. Nearest to the patio was a large hen coop, and four large golden coloured hens were scratching in the dirt in front of it and pecking at the ground. A little way behind this coop was a sizeable wooden shelter surrounded by a fenced in paddock. A fully grown pig was just about visible halfway in the shelter, lying asleep on the ground while a second was snuffling in some hay nearby. Yet another wooden structure stood adjacent to this and Katniss could just about make out a ewe bent down and eating grass while a lamb stood under her suckling milk.

The garden stretched on as far as her eye could see. A moving flash of silver at the end caught her eyes; it appeared a small brook ran through the very end of his garden, and just beyond that a wood was growing. Tears formed in Katniss' eyes at the beauty of those trees, which she missed more than anything living in London.

"This is all yours?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Well, just as far as the stream. The orchard doesn't belong to me," he replied.

"How can you afford all this?" she asked, immediately wishing she hadn't as he flushed a deep red. "I'm sorry, that must have sounded so rude."

"It's ok. I had a very generous inheritance. Thankfully I was able to buy it outright as there's simply no way I could afford a mortgage on this place now. Come on, I'll introduce you to everyone."

The first stop was the hens. At first Peeta rooted around in the coop and withdrew a couple of eggs. He then knelt down by crate next to the coop, opened the lid and took out a large bowl and a wooden spoon. He placed the eggs in the bowl and grabbed a handful of grain from inside the crate, chucking it in the bowl with the eggs. Much to Katniss' surprise he then used the wooden spoon to mash everything together, egg shells and all. He placed the bowl on the floor and scattered another handful of grain around in the dirt. The hens immediately started clucking louder and pecked and scratched at the dirt, and excitedly pecked at the bowl containing their own eggs. A second empty bowl lay in the floor, which Peeta picked up and tucked under his arm before carefully closing the crate.

"So, that's Ophelia," said Peeta, pointing to one of the hens, "That's Titania, that's Desdemona, and this one here is Viola." Katniss nodded blindly. They all looked exactly the same to her and she wondered if he genuinely could tell them apart. "I've had these particular ladies about a year now."

"This might be a stupid question," said Katniss "but why not eat those eggs yourself? I mean, you know where they come from. They couldn't be much more free range."

Peeta smiled at her. "I don't eat eggs," he said simply. "Anyway, they need them far more than I do, they love them, see?" He was watching the clucking hens fondly and Katniss had to bite her tongue once more at the extremism. She reminded herself that she was supposed to be on his side.

"So you've got Zippy, George and Bungle inside, and Ophelia, Titania, Desdemona and Viola outside. Do you name all your animals within a theme?"

"I'm afraid so," he grinned. "Look, I just need to go wash this up," he said, indicating the bowl under his arm. "Do you want to just hang back here and I'll be back in a moment?"

"Sure," she replied. She watched his retreating back then turned around to soak up the view once again. She missed such rich, vibrant colours in her everyday life. She would have loved to be able to leave London and return to a life in the countryside but she knew that at present it just wasn't possible, and unlike Peeta she didn't have a rich dead relative to be able to hand everything to her on a silver platter.

She immediately felt bad for such a vindictive thought. It wasn't his fault to have been born into a rich family, and not many people would have ploughed such a large amount of money into setting up a charity, even if it was a misguided one.

Katniss looked down towards the trees at the end of the garden. She longed to go down there and explore them further. Perhaps she could persuade Peeta to go for a walk through them later. And perhaps, under the cover of night and surrounded by trees, she could persuade him that kissing her wasn't such a bad idea…

As her thoughts began to err on the side of carnal she heard Peeta's heavy footsteps behind her, the sound of which shook her back to herself. What on earth was wrong with her? Why was Peeta inciting such conflicting emotions within her? One moment infuriating her and the very next igniting something primal deep within her?

"It's not a bad view, is it?" said Katniss as Peeta returned to her side.

"Not bad at all," Peeta agreed. She turned to him and was surprised to see he was staring at her and not at the landscape. Her heart began to race at the implication. She felt her cheeks grow hot and broke away from his gaze.

Peeta introduced her to the rest of the animals, feeding and cleaning them out as he went and giving a brief story as to how they came to be with him. Kage and Jables, the two pigs, had been runts in two separate litters born on a factory farm. They were literally going to be thrown away, discarded in the bin and left to die, but were saved by a member of the A.L.F. working undercover. The ewe, Mallory, had been heavily pregnant when she hurt her leg and was going to be sent to slaughter. A neighbour to the farm she lived on had taken pity on her and had bought her from the farmer directly but had no idea how to care for her. Mallory was brought to Peeta, and she gave birth to her baby, Sterling, just a couple of weeks later.

Peeta then set up a large, inescapable run on the flattest part of the garden. One of the shelters outside contained several large enclosures containing smaller animals. He began with the five rabbits, Toki, Nathan, Skwisgaar, William and Pickles, and moved them from their large indoor space to the run one at a time, giving him a chance to clean out the enclosure. The rabbits had come to him after being given up by various kids who had received them as Easter presents and got bored. Next up were the guinea pigs, Vince and Howard. They shared a large hutch filled with toys and tunnels and had apparently been brought to him in a state of neglect, both starving and with fur matted with faeces. He put them in a large pet carry case while he cleaned out their hutch. "Feel free to give them a cuddle if you like," he said, while laying down a clean layer of hay inside their hutch. Katniss declined at first but Peeta insisted. He gently picked up one the guinea pigs and put him in Katniss' arms. The creature made a series of inquisitive sounding chirrups and warbles and looked up at her with its beady black eyes. "He likes you," said Peeta, a smile crinkling the corners of his eyes.

Once he had finished with the smaller animals, and had put the rabbits safely away again he offered Katniss another coffee which she gratefully accepted. Together they sat outside soaking up the sun, Katniss drinking her hazelnut coffee which she had already developed a real taste for, Peeta with a tea in a mug that could almost be defined as a bucket.

"This is quite some operation you've got going here," said Katniss.

"Thanks," he replied. "I just wish I could do more."

"Well," said Katniss, seeing a way to bring the conversation around to the subject she wanted. "You've got your protest groups too, right?"

"Yeah, there's always those," he agreed.

"Why don't you tell me about the culls in your own words?" she asked. "And how you plan to stop them."

"It's all totally fraudulent," he responded. "They say it's a way to control bovine TB, because they can't afford to compensate farmers whose cows are destroyed when TB is found present, but it's all lies."

"So you don't believe it can be spread by badgers then?" said Katniss, feeling the flash of anger under the surface but maintaining a calm exterior.

"It's irrelevant. For a start the numbers don't add up. They're talking about a cull of up seventy percent of the badger population, with a projection of a sixteen percent drop in bovine TB. Those figures don't add up and why? Because the greatest cause of bovine TB isn't badgers. It's cows, obviously. Modern farming methods. Cows housed too closely together and farmed too intensively."

"So what's your solution?"

"In the long term, stop paying for the products. People want more, more, more and they want it cheaply, and it's the animals who end up the victims. Killing hundreds of thousands of badgers isn't going to stop the spread of disease in cows that live in dirt and filth and on top of each other. Of course it isn't."

"And in the short term?"

"In the short term we'll do what we can to save those lives here and now."

"How?"

"By standing between those with the guns and the innocent victims."

"Not literally, surely."

"Yes, if we have to."

Katniss was taken aback by such an answer. Surely they wouldn't be so foolhardy as to physically place themselves in front of a man with a loaded gun? "You're exaggerating," she said.

"No," said Peeta earnestly. "Sometimes it's the best defence the animals have. Sometimes their only defence. I've been threatened, I've had horse whips raised at me, I've been…hurt… by hunters. But it's nothing, nothing, to the loss of an innocent life."

At that moment Peeta received a text. He read the message and seemed to be weighing something up in his mind. Eventually he said, "Do you have to get back tonight?"

"Not especially. Why?"

He was silent a moment longer as he reread the text and appeared to be struggling with some inner conflict. "Do you want to see what we do, first hand?"

"There aren't any culls around here though, are there?"

"No," responded Peeta. "But there will always be animals that need our help. Do you want to come with us?"

Katniss could hardly believe her luck. Whatever he was asking her to do, it didn't sound legal. One day in on the job and she was already about to get first-hand experience of their illegal activities. Peeta really needed to learn a lesson about trust. The pressing guilt raised its ugly head again. If she carried on this way it wouldn't just be a story about the criminal activities of a group of radicals. It would be a personal vendetta that would potentially crush the spirit of a naïve young man. Was that really the angle she wanted to go for?

"Ok," she said, against all her better judgement.

"Ok," he said, smiling widely. "Have you got any other clothes with you? You'll need something dark, and something you can move easily in. Shoes as well, something comfy that you don't mind getting dirty."

"No," said Katniss feeling the opportunity slide away from her.

"No matter," said Peeta. "We'll sort something out. What size shoes do you wear?"

"Fives."

Peeta nodded and typed something in to his phone receiving a response that seemed to satisfy him just a few minutes later. "Ok, then I'd better get everything finished up here."

He raced through the rest of the day's chores, briefly introducing Katniss to the nine cats housed in five segregated enclosures in an extension at the back of the house. These nine were available for adoption subject to home checks. Despite her immense dislike for the creatures, she hoped for their sake that Peeta checked out the people potentially adopting them more thoroughly than he did the people he allowed in to his home and personal life. The cats all fed and litter cleaned and changed Peeta set about trying to find something for Katniss. He offered her a plain black t-shirt and a black hoodie, both of which were far too large for her, but she felt strangely comforted wearing them. They smelled of Peeta; a citrusy and slightly spicy scent that she recognised from somewhere but couldn't quite put her finger on.

As for trousers and shoes, Peeta had apparently text a friend who would be bringing some over before they went out.

"So what time will we be doing this?" Katniss asked, feeling apprehensive, especially as she had no idea what 'this' would entail.

"Not til late," Peeta replied. "Or early, depending on your perspective. One or two in the morning, probably, so if you wanted to get some rest before we go you can."

Katniss looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost seven in the evening. The day had absolutely flown by. "No," she said. "If I fall asleep, I'll be out for the night. I'll stay up, but I'll probably need more coffee."

Peeta led her through to the living room and invited her to relax. She sat on an incredibly comfortable squashy sofa and within moments the dog, Belle, had stood up, bounded over to her and rested its head in her lap. The dog looked up at her with large baleful eyes, as if reproaching her for betraying Peeta. Katniss couldn't bear it and looked away. She reached for the nearby TV remote control and flicked the television on, channel hopping through all the usual early evening dross and drivel. The dog soon became bored with the lack of attention and returned to a basket in the corner of the room.

After a while Peeta came in bearing a tray which he set down on the coffee table, went back to the kitchen and returned bearing a second tray. "I wasn't sure what you'd want for dinner," he apologised, "So I thought I'd just do some bits and pieces. I hope this is ok."

Katniss looked at the spread in front of her. A stack of little sandwiches cut into triangles and arranged neatly on a plate sat beside some sushi rolls. There were some little wonton parcels and a couple of bowls of dipping sauce. Mini sausage rolls and samosas. But what caught Katniss' eye the most was the two tired cupcake stand bearing the most beautiful cupcakes Katniss had ever seen.

"This is your idea of 'just bits and pieces?'" she asked. "This looks incredible."

"It's mostly just leftovers, I hope it's all still ok. Apart from the sandwiches. They're fresh."

Katniss moved closer to inspect everything in more detail, salivating as she did so.

"So, the sandwiches on white bread are aged cashew cheese and pickle, and the ones on wholegrain are salad, avocado and salsa. The sushi is marinated tofu with julienned veggies, the wontons were made with the leftover tofu and veg, the sauces are sweet chilli, and coriander and lime, and the cakes are black forest, lemon and blueberry, and chai latte."

She stared at him open mouthed. "Did you make all this?"

He nodded, a pink flush creeping across his cheeks and the tops of his ears. "Yeah, apart from the sausage rolls and the samosas, so… Sorry if it's shite."

"Those cakes…. You didn't make them?" He nodded earnestly at her. "They look incredible." She picked up one of the cupcakes and examined it. The creamy white icing had been piped on in the shape of a rose, each petal individually created, and then dusted over with powdered cinnamon. She placed it back on the stand and picked up another; the smell of the zesty lemon icing hit her as she did so, and she had to supress the urge to stick her finger in the perfectly even swirl on top.

"Well anyway, help yourself."

Katniss didn't know where to begin. She knew where she wanted to begin, but didn't think diving straight in to the cakes would look especially good. Peeta had already piled a plate with a little of everything. She took one of the cashew 'cheese' sandwiches and sniffed at it apprehensively then took a small nibble. It was surprisingly good, both creamy and a little tangy. All the food he had put out was tantalisingly good, especially the homemade bits. "I think I should just make you my personal chef," said Katniss as she cleared her plate and finally picked up the lemon cake she had been eyeing. She bit into it, and couldn't help the moan of pleasure that escaped her lips at the same time. The cake was moist, light as a feather, not too sweet and inside housed a secret surprise, as the middle was filled with a fresh blueberry sauce. "Seriously," she said, "I'd pay you for these everyday."

"Wait til you try these ones," said Peeta, picking up the black forest cupcake. He cut into it with a fork and knelt down beside her, holding a forkful of the cake out for her to try. She opened her mouth and took the proffered cake from him, closing her eyes and moaning in pleasure again as she did so. She'd never tasted anything quite so good. Like the lemon cake, this had been filled with a rich, gooey cherry sauce but with an added hint of brandy. The cake itself was again moist and light, but had added texture from chunks of rich, dark chocolate. Peeta had two very remarkable, clear talents, that was for certain. She slowly opened her eyes and Peeta was still there beside her, watching her closely. His pupils had dilated and his lips were slightly parted. Katniss swallowed, although her mouth had gone dry. The desire on his face was apparent. She licked her lips, tasting the chocolate cake on them for a second time and slowly tilted her head towards his.

A loud knocking at the front door seemed to bring both of them back to their senses. Peeta looked slightly panicked and clambered to his feet. He left Katniss alone for a moment and she forced her breathing back under control. There could be no denying what had almost happened. Her heart was racing almost as fast as her mind; she couldn't do this to him, she mustn't do this. But she wanted it more than anything. She pushed the plate with the black forest cake away from her, just as Peeta re-entered the room with the people who had saved them both from themselves.

"Are we interrupting something intimate here?" said the man. Katniss stared at him. She had never seen a more idealised specimen of a man in her life. Tall, bronze haired, muscular and undeniably handsome, he surely had to be a model.

"No," mumbled Peeta unconvincingly. "This is Katniss, she'll be coming with us tonight. Katniss, this is Finnick and Annie."

Katniss had been so taken aback by the beauty of Finnick that she hadn't noticed a second person. Annie was stood just to the side of Finnick and gently holding his hand. She was very pretty but also seemed incredibly unassuming. She couldn't imagine a person less likely to be involved in anything illegal. "So you'll both be…doing this tonight?" she asked, still not sure exactly what she was doing.

"I will," said Finnick. "Annie will be staying here. She doesn't do direct action anymore."

Annie shook her head dreamily. "Not since Peeta-" began Annie, but Peeta interrupted her. "Not since I need someone here. You know. To look after everyone." He had turned a deep shade of red and Finnick was looking at him questioningly. Peeta shook his head almost imperceptibly.

Finnick broke the strange tension by turning to the remains of the food. "Peet, you old bastard, I can't believe you didn't get us over here sooner." He grabbed one of the remaining sandwiches and decimated it in just a couple of bites.

"Did you bring any spare clothes?" Peeta asked Annie.

"Here," she replied handing over a rucksack. Peeta opened it and pulled out a pair of dark grey plimsolls and some black jogging pants.

"Perfect," he said. "Thank you."

He handed the clothes to Katniss who could tell they would be an ideal fit straight away. All that was left to do now was wait for night to fall and to be taken to do… whatever it would be.


	10. Chapter 9 - Peeta

This wasn't going to be a massive operation. There would be just the four of them travelling in Finnick's car. They had enough carriers to liberate eight hens from the hell of the cages.

At first, as soon as he realised Katniss would be there, Thresh had refused to get involved, claiming that she was a liability. He warned Peeta that if anything went wrong it would be entirely on his head, and told Peeta he had to start thinking with his head instead of his dick.

There was a certain truth to his words, Peeta knew. If they hadn't been interrupted earlier by Finnick and Annie's arrival they certainly would have kissed and Peeta wouldn't have stopped it this time. He hadn't been able to stop fantasising about her all day and hearing her appreciative moans of pleasure as she sampled his food had driven him almost wild. He wanted her more than anything. He had wanted her from the moment he first saw her, but now… Now she was all he could think of.

He had to get his head back on straight. Being anything less than focused wasn't an option. Especially seeing as Katniss had never done anything like this before and was clearly nervous. He had to look after her.

He and Finnick had eventually persuaded Thresh that they needed him there, that there was no way the operation would be a success without him. Peeta hoped that her being involved in a direct action rescue would persuade everyone to trust her, and to trust his judgement of her. At a little before one in the morning, he and Katniss got in to the back of Finnick's Land Rover while Thresh got into the front passenger seat.

Peeta watched Katniss' profile, illuminated only occasionally when they drove past a streetlight. Her jaw was clenched and she was staring straight ahead, hands gripping the seat either side of her, exuding nervousness.

"Are you ok?" Peeta asked her. She nodded but remained quiet and kept facing straight ahead. He slid his fingers across the car seat so that the tips of his fingers just brushed against hers. He heard her breath catch slightly as she looked at where their fingers were connected. In the darkness he could see her raise her head to look at him. He offered her a small smile, even if she was unable to see it. She responded by moving her hand closer to his so their fingers were interlocked, not just touching but actually interlocked. His heart began to race and he longed for the two of them to have some privacy. But there was still the matter of his leg… He felt nauseous thinking about it. This girl next to him could have anyone she wanted, anyone at all… Would she really still want him once she knew?

It took about a half an hour to drive to the farm. From the outside no one would ever suspect the hell that took place indoors. At a glance it looked like any other industrial complex, a series of large, featureless and windowless grey buildings arranged around a concrete courtyard. The buildings were surrounded by a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. Finnick drove past the gated entrance at the front of the complex for a few minutes, then turned the car off the road. He parked by the beginnings of a wooded area that would afford a little cover. Turning the engine off he said, "We ready?"

As he turned the engine off the car's internal lights came on, briefly illuminating the fact that Peeta and Katniss had been holding hands. Katniss quickly snatched her hand away before anyone noticed. Even after she withdrew her hand, Peeta could still feel where her fingers had been on his. He took a deep breath, undid his seat belt and got out of the car.

Finnick opened up the back of his car to reveal the necessary tools for the evening. They would each take a pet carrier which would comfortably house two hens in each. Peeta grabbed a holdall which contained some torches, a crowbar, a screwdriver, some wire cutters and a couple of blankets. He removed the wire cutters and kept these handy, while handing the rest of the bag to Thresh. They never knew precisely which tools they would be needing on each job. He also took out a large pair of bolt cutters which he gave to Finnick.

He reached in to the front pocket of his hoodie and withdrew two cotton Afghan style scarves, one of which he handed to Katniss. "Here," he said. "You'll need this. Trust me."

He wrapped his scarf around his neck in a way that would make it easy to cover his face in a hurry, and Katniss copied. He could sense her mounting nervousness and recalled his own first late night liberation mission, and how terrified he'd been. He was barely seventeen at the time, had no idea what to expect and was convinced they'd be caught and he'd be imprisoned. Katniss was probably running through similar hypotheticals right now.

The four of them made their way stealthily towards the chain-link fence. They picked a spot that was hidden in shadow and Peeta got to work with the wire cutters. It took just a couple of tense minutes until he had created enough of a gap to be able to peel back a corner of the fence. Finnick went through first, followed by Thresh. Katniss hesitated a moment. "Go ahead," encouraged Peeta. She quickly ducked through and he followed swiftly after her, pulling the fence back in to place so that at a glance it still looked intact.

The concrete structure nearest to them also happened to be the one bathed in the least light. Sticking to the shadows as much as possible the four of them sidled round to one side of the building until they found the heavily chained and padlocked door. Looking briefly to either side, Finnick used the bolt cutters and had the padlock off in seconds.

Peeta, Finnick and Thresh pulled their scarves up around their mouths and noses and tightened them, fastening them in place. "You're going to want to do them same," Peeta said to Katniss, his voice muffled slightly. He helped her secure the cotton scarf in place, placed his hand on the top of her arm and gently squeezed her reassuringly. Meanwhile Thresh had opened the holdall and taken out a torch for each of them. "Don't turn it on until we're inside," he warned as he handed one to Katniss.

Finnick pulled the door open, and as he did so it creaked loudly, the sound seeming to echo ominously in the cool night air. Peeta was the first to duck inside, lighting his torch as he did so.

He had done this so many times, broken in to these hellish factories, but it never failed to almost overwhelm him. The sheer scale of the monstrosities; row after row of cages, stacked high on top of each other, filled with diseased birds unable to move.

The smell was always the first thing to hit them; the stench of ammonia, faeces and the rotting, slightly sickly scent of death smacked them full in the faces, burning their eyes, noses and throats. Katniss had been unprepared for such a vile assault on her senses and immediately began to retch and gag. Peeta put an arm over her back, stroked her gently and said, "It's ok. We'll be gone soon."

"I told you she was a liability," said Thresh in a hushed voice as he set up the pet carriers on the floor.

Finnick had remained by the door; he had it pulled mostly shut but was keeping a look out. "Can we save the arguments for later, please ladies?" he said urgently.

Through the four narrow beams of light the imprisoned sickly looking birds were illuminated. "Here," said Thresh, stopping in front of one of the cages. "This one."

Peeta stepped forward. The decision on which hens to save was usually pretty arbitrary. Choosing which eight would get to live normal, happy and free lives, when the remaining thousands would be forced to stay in hell and meet a premature end with a knife across the throat wasn't something they could afford to dwell upon.

Peeta handed his torch to Thresh who held both beams of light steady so that Peeta could work quickly. He snipped the wire cage open, completely removing the front panel. Inside the tiny cage, four hens were trying to keep away from the humans, whom they had learned to fear, but one at a time they were gently and reverently placed in to a carrier, with one other hen for company.

"Katniss?" Peeta called out quietly. She had been looking around at the squalor in utter disbelief and jumped a little as Peeta said her name. "Pick another cage."

She swung her beam of light around for just a few moments until her eyes alighted on a hen who was peeking her head through the bars. Her scrawny neck was completely featherless, and with a head cocked slightly to one side had fixed Katniss with a beady eye. Katniss looked almost scared to break the contact. "This one," she indicated.

It was just a few moments work to open the cage in the same way he had before. Thresh helped load the birds into the carriers as Katniss seemed almost fearful to touch them.

Once their liberated hens were safely housed away, they picked up the carriers one each and snuck back outside. Finnick attached the chain through the door handles again, but before the doors closed fully, Peeta whispered, "I'm sorry," to all those left behind.

As soon as she was outside Katniss pulled the scarf away from her face and gulped down the fresh night air as if she had been drowning. They darted back as quickly as possible to the point where they had broken through the fence. Thresh went first and one at a time the carriers were pushed through the gap towards him. Peeta made sure Katniss went through safely next, followed by Finnick, while he brought up the rear.

They didn't begin to relax until they were back on the road and speeding away from the scene of the crime. In the back of the car the eight hens squawked and warbled gently. Katniss was visibly shaken by the whole ordeal and kept staring straight ahead, her breathing ragged.

Under the cover of darkness once more Peeta reached for her hand. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"How many are there?" she asked, her voice completely deadpan and emotionless.

"What do you mean?"

"How many of them in those cages? Living like that?"

"Worldwide? Billions."

"Billions?" she snorted. "And do you think getting eight out is going to change the world?"

"Maybe not," said Peeta gently. He turned his head slightly to look at the hens in the back of the car. "But it's changed their world."

They drove the rest of the journey in silence, punctuated only occasionally by a ragged breath or heavy sigh from Katniss. Their fingers stayed woven together as they had done on the journey to the factory.

When they returned to Peeta's cottage Katniss asked the question, "Now what?" Three pairs of eyes looked at her questioningly as they unloaded the carriers from the back. "What are you going to do with them now?"

"They'll live here with me," said Peeta, as if the answer could not be more obvious. "Once they've got their health back I'll try to rehome them, but it can be difficult with hens…. A lot of people would only want them for their eggs, and would give them up as soon as they stop laying, and with hens that's basically a death sentence, so I'd only want to rehome them with a vegan family. If I can't rehome them they'll always be welcome here."

The hens were brought inside and carried upstairs to a spare bedroom. Annie had been dozing peacefully on the bed but had awoken without a fuss as soon as realised everyone had returned. She made hot drinks for everyone while Peeta filled four separate bowls with water and another four with mixed seed and grain. He brought these upstairs and placed the bowls within the pet carriers, securing them closed once the hens had access to food and fresh water. Most of the hens were too terrified to move, but one or two ventured to feed themselves. "Let's leave them to it," Peeta said, and they filed out, Peeta closing the door behind them.

"You're just going to leave them in there?" Katniss asked.

"There's not much else we can do at half three in the morning," replied Peeta. "I'll introduce them to outside tomorrow, but one step at a time. We don't want to overwhelm them."

"What's everyone doing now?" Katniss wondered aloud. Annie was still terribly sleepy and seemed to be having tremendous difficulty keeping her eyes open, and Finnick was also yawning heavily but everyone else seemed to still be pretty awake and alert.

"I'm gonna head home," said Thresh. "See if I can grab at least a couple of hours of shut eye." He turned to Katniss. "Good work tonight. Keep it up." He held his hand out and shook hers briefly before heading out the front door.

"Are you staying here tonight?" Peeta asked Finnick.

"If you don't mind," he replied, yawning as he did.

"You can take my room if you like," Peeta offered. "Seeing as the spare's pretty occupied right now."

"Cheers, mate." He took Annie's entirely unresisting hand and led her up the stairs, leaving Peeta and Katniss alone.

They stood in awkward silence for a moment, both fully aware of the moments of snatched intimacy that had passed between them earlier, but neither wanting to be the first to acknowledge it.

"Ummm…. You won't be driving back to London right now, will you?" Peeta said at last, fearing the worst.

"Good god, no," replied Katniss. "No way." Peeta's shoulders sagged in relief at her answer.

"Ok, ummm, well, if you're ok with it I can make you up a bed on the couch?"

Katniss looked around the small living room. "Where are you going to sleep?"

"Don't worry about me," he replied. "I can crash on the armchair. I'm not all that tired at the moment anyway, I was just going to put some cartoons on, try and switch off." He cringed as the words came out from him. ' _Nice one. All the ladies love a twenty seven year old man who lives alone and watches cartoons,_ ' he thought bitterly. ' _No wonder you're single._ '

Katniss looked amused and said, "Cartoons, hey?"

He felt his cheeks begin to burn. "Yeah. Sorry."

"Don't apologise. Everyone needs a way to relax."

He smiled shyly and fetched a few blankets and pillows. "Do you want to borrow something to sleep in?" he asked as he spread the blankets over the couch.

"I'll be fine in what I've already borrowed, thank you."

"Ok then. Ummm. Good night, I guess. Sleep well. I'll keep the TV down quiet."

They stood in awkward silence again for a few moments longer until Katniss said, "Goodnight, then." She sounded almost disappointed and a little annoyed as she climbed under one of the blankets. Peeta wanted to bang his head against the wall. He'd missed his chance. His inability to show a little courage when it mattered had lost him his chance with her. He sat down heavily in his armchair, reached for the remote control and switched the television on, turning it to the Cartoon Network. It was currently showing an episode of _Flapjack_ he'd seen a hundred times but he didn't care.

Every now and then he risked a glance at Katniss. He wasn't sure if she was genuinely asleep or merely feigning, but either way she looked more beautiful than ever, her hair slightly messy and tousled as her braid was starting to come undone. He wanted to go to her, undo that braid and run his fingers through that hair that he was convinced was as soft as silk. Letting out a long, slow sigh he turned back to the television and tried to stop the endless chatter running through his mind.

His eyelids began to grow heavy. He tried to fight against it. He didn't especially want to sleep in an armchair; he knew he'd pay the price tomorrow with a stiff neck and sore back to go with his inevitable aching and itching limb, but the lure of sleep became too great. His head lolled to one side; he'd just rest his eyes, just for a little while…

\--------------------------------------------------

He'd forgotten to turn the television off, and the noises coming from it had woken him up. God knows what show it was, but it sounded thoroughly depressing and miserable. Some girl crying quietly. Not wailing, just a gentle sob, but it was enough to wake him up. He blearily found the remote, pointed it at the TV and hit the standby button. Nothing happened. He tried mute. Again, nothing.

He was thoroughly confused for only a moment, until the understanding hit him like a sledgehammer. He turned to where Katniss was sat up on the couch, hugging her knees. "Katniss?"

She looked up. "I'm sorry," she said quietly between sobs. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's ok."

"Is it? Is it really?"

Peeta understood. Seeing what Katniss had seen first-hand was a real shock to the system the first time. It still upset him deeply every time he witnessed it, but he'd learned how to switch off and cope as best as he could. He climbed to his feet and sat down next to her, placing his hand on her back and rubbing small gentle circles between her shoulders. She turned her face into his chest, and leaned in to him, throwing an arm around his waist as she continued to cry.

"I don't know what to do," she said as she squeezed him a little tighter.

Peeta hardly dared to breathe. He returned the squeeze and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. Katniss sat up and looked at him, her eyes swimming with tears. She reached out and cupped the side of his face in her hands, and began to lean in towards him. He couldn't move; both his mind and his body had frozen. He closed his eyes and moments later he could feel Katniss pressing her lips against his.

At first his mind and body were still frozen, but he soon began to melt under the gentle warmth of her kiss. He parted his lips to her and slowly began to return the kiss, bringing one hand up behind the back of her head while the other snaked around her waist. He broke apart from her for just a second. "Katniss," he exhaled. "If this isn't happening, let me know now. And if it isn't, you're going to have to be the one to stop it, because honestly, I don't think I can." She responded by pulling him back towards her, deepening her kiss, gently probing his tongue with her own and pulling his bottom lip into her mouth, grazing it gently with her teeth.

Her hands began to explore his body, gliding over his back and he took courage from her, running his hand slowly up and down over the curve of her waistline. He brought his hand round to the front and hesitated for a moment, his hand hovering in the air just over her breast. She took his hand in her own and without a moment's thought pressed it over her covered breasts. Peeta moaned deep in the back of his throat at her boldness, and began to gently squeeze the soft flesh. She had removed her bra to sleep, and Peeta could feel her aroused and hardened nipples through the soft cotton of his borrowed t-shirt. He gently pinched her between his thumb and forefinger and in response she kissed him even more passionately.

His cock was straining uncomfortably against his clothing, and Katniss had clearly noticed. She began to stroke him through the material, causing Peeta's hips to buck upwards, increasing the pressure she exerted against him. She stopped kissing him for a moment and broke her touch away from his erection. Peeta whined in frustration until he realised what she was doing. She was undoing the fly on his jeans. The sight snapped Peeta back to his senses, and in a panic he pushed her hands away from him.

"What is it?" Katniss asked, the hurt and confusion apparent in her voice.

"I'm sorry," Peeta gasped. "It's not you, I promise, it's not you."

"Then what is it?"

He had no idea how to answer her and broke away from her gaze. He couldn't look her in the eye at all. Eventually he managed to blurt out, "There's… something… wrong with me."

"What, like a disease?" Katniss asked, looking both worried and disgusted.

"No," said Peeta. "Nothing like that, it's just…" His throat constricted and he couldn't finish his sentence.

"Then what?"

"I'm….broken."

"Broken? What are you talking about?"

He couldn't breathe. He thought he was going to vomit but he had no way out of this. He looked up at Katniss, her brow knotted together in confusion and concern. He would have to be honest with her. It would put an end to this wonderful moment of fantasy, but then, it couldn't last anyway. He swallowed the bile that was threatening to rise and reached down, pulling off his shoes and rolling the leg of his jeans up so that Katniss could see the ugly prosthetic underneath. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see her inevitable rejection of him.

"Oh," she said. "Is that all?" Peeta looked up at her, unsure what her reaction meant. "You had me worried," she said furiously.

He hardly dared to believe his ears. "You mean…? This doesn't…?"

She didn't speak. Instead she straddled his lap, pushed him back in to the couch and kissed him more passionately than ever. His mind was in a daze, but one fact seemed to slowly penetrate; she didn't care about his leg. She still wanted him. _She still wanted him_. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close to him as he could. She pulled away a moment and tore at his t-shirt pulling it up and over his head, then she sat back to admire him. Her eyes drifted over his torso, her fingers tracing the contours of his muscles. She paused as she touched a tattoo over his heart - a raised fist side by side with a raised dog's paw – then allowed her fingers to drift lower and lower. Peeta couldn't tear his eyes from her and savoured every single second of her touch. As her fingers travelled ever lower and stroked down the line of dark blond hair just above the waistband of his jeans Peeta reached for her. "Kiss me," he said in a low voice.

She did as he asked, and his hands set about exploring her body once again. He cupped her breast through the fabric of his t-shirt and in response she began to slowly grind her hips in to his hardness. Her movements emboldened him and he reached under the shirt, delighting in the feel of her pebbled nipple against his palm. Her breathing became heavier as she stopped kissing his mouth, and began planting a trail of kisses along his neck, laving the skin with her tongue.

He couldn't take much more. He had to see as well as feel. "Wait," he asked her, his voice heavy with desire. She sat up straight and in one movement he pulled the t-shirt above her head. His eyes fell upon her dusky rose nipples and he leant forward, capturing one in his mouth while he worked the other with his hand. He gently sucked, grazing the sensitive flesh with his teeth and eliciting moans of pleasure deep with her.

She reached down between them and once again began to undo the fly on his jeans. A second moment of panic spread through him. "Katniss, wait," he hissed.

She sat up. "What now?" she asked impatiently.

"I don't have any condoms," he admitted a little sheepishly.

"I'm on the injection," she replied as she set about removing his jeans once again.

"Wait, one more thing…"

"Jesus, Peeta, what?"

"It's ummm… it's been a long time. A _really_ long time. I'm not going to last." His face burned bright red at the admission.

She smiled wickedly. "I can help with that." She finally undid his jeans and encouraged him to lift his hips off the couch so she could pull them off him. At the same time she slipped her fingers under the waistband of his boxers, removing them at the same time. He felt incredibly exposed; not so much the fact that he was naked in front of her, but he couldn't stop glancing at his leg, at the ugly silicone liner that rode halfway up his thigh to secure it in place. He wondered what she truly thought of it and marvelled at the fact that she didn't stare at it herself.

All thoughts were quickly pushed out of his mind when she knelt in front of him, and encouraged him to sit on the edge of the couch. She pushed his thighs apart and settled herself in between. His cock strained upwards, twitching in apprehension as he stared down at her in utter disbelief. She looked up at him, smiled once, and took him deep in her mouth.

He almost fell back against the couch, but he forced himself to sit upright and watch her. Her tongue swirled around the head before she licked down the vein on the underside of his shaft. She looked up at him again and slowly took more and more of him in, sucking and fluttering her tongue over him as she did. He couldn't actually remember the last time he'd had his cock sucked, but whenever it was it hadn't felt anything like this; he was embarrassingly close to the edge already. She wrapped her hand around the base of his cock and started to slowly pump him. His eyes fluttered closed. "Fuck, Katniss…." She seemed to be encouraged by the sounds he was making and moved her hand faster, sucking as hard as she could. "Shit, Katniss…. Fuck… I'm gonna…fuck me, I'm gonna come…." He felt the pressure in his balls increase in intensity, and as he came little stars seemed to explode at the edge of his vision. He grabbed at a nearby cushion, smothering his face with it so as not to wake Finnick and Annie upstairs. Even as he rode through his orgasm Katniss continued to suck and stroke him, until he practically begged her to stop.

He collapsed backwards against the couch completely unable to move; he'd never experienced an orgasm quite so intense. As his vision began to return to normal he noticed Katniss stood in front of him; she had shed the last of her clothes and was completely naked. "Thank you," he whispered to her.

"I think you ought to be able to last a little longer now," she said. "Whenever you're ready."

"Give me a minute," he smiled, trying to catch his breath.

She sat with him on the couch and swung her legs up off the floor so that she was stretched out over him. "Lie with me," she said. Peeta willingly obliged.

Their bodies pressed into one another, they exchanged sweet, soft kisses. Peeta's hands dropped down over her back, lower and lower, and gently squeezed the curves of her backside. "Fuck me, you're gorgeous," he breathed. He pushed her on to her back and parted her legs slightly. He gently ran his fingers up her inner thighs, delighting in watching her squirm in anticipation. Her centre was so hot and wet already, and he ran a finger down her slick folds finding the little bundles of nerves that he knew would drive her crazy. She bucked her hips upwards into him and he kissed her to capture every one of her moans. He dared to lower his fingers further, finding her entrance and he slipped a finger inside using his thumb to maintain pressure on her sweet spot at the front. He tried a second finger inside her and she soon began to buck and writhe under his insistent ministrations. As soon as she started to cry out his name he clamped his hand over her mouth to try and quiet her.

Seeing her come apart was more than enough to ensure he was ready for her again. He positioned himself over her, the tip of his erection just brushing over the sensitivity of her clitoris. "You're sure this is ok?" he breathed. She bit her lip to stop herself screaming out and nodded urgently. He slowly pushed in to her, the heat and wetness of her core enveloping him.

He couldn't move immediately. She felt so good, so hot and tight and wet around him that he just had to stay still, lying on top of her and enjoying the moment until it became too much of a blissful torture to remain still. He slowly pulled out, delighting in the quiet moans of ecstasy from Katniss as he slowly pushed back in to her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him even closer in to her.

It didn't take long for Katniss to begin to come undone again. Her hips rocked steadily in time with Peeta's, and in the small space between them he reached down to find her swollen clit once again, deftly and unrelentingly stroking against it. She came with a loud cry, and this time Peeta had to capture her cry in his mouth. The feeling of her muscles clamping down around him was too much for him to take, his body was on fire and as he came he called her name. "Ahhh, fuck…Katniss!" She kissed him as his body trembled within hers, before he collapsed on top of her.

"That was incredible," he breathed into her neck as she gently ran her fingers through his hair.

"Thank you," she said, her own breathing heavy and erratic. "Thank you."

Peeta smiled dreamily at her. The blankets he had got for Katniss earlier that evening were crumpled up on the floor, and he was already rapidly cooling from the layer of sweat he had built up, so he reached down and covered the pair of them up with a blanket. He rested his head on her shoulder, and every now and then planted small, sleepy kisses on her chest. He felt truly relaxed for the first time in as long as he could remember and before he knew it had fallen asleep in her arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are interested in Peeta's tatt, type 'animal liberation' in to google images; it's quite a famous image (at least in the AR world!)


	11. Chapter 10 - Katniss

She woke up to the sound of footsteps coming down stairs and with pins and needles in her arm. Peeta was curled in to her, pinning her to the sofa and cutting off the blood supply to her arm but the footsteps were getting closer and in her panic she managed to dislodge him. He blearily raised his head with a stupefied look of confusion on his face, which quickly turned to a wide and goofy grin as he remembered what had happened between them. "Morning," he said to her, and leaned in towards her for a kiss. She turned her head away from him just as the door to the living room opened and Finnick walked in.

At first he seemed shocked in to stillness and stood looking at the pair of them lying naked together, Peeta leaning over Katniss for a kiss, Katniss covering her exposed breasts with her hands. A smirk slowly started to spread across his face. "Good morning, kids," he said. "Have fun last night?" He didn't wait for an answer before he backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. "Tea?" he called through the closed door.

"Please," Peeta called back, flushed bright red but unable to hide the smile on his face. "Katniss?" he asked turning to her.

She shook her head, and pulled the blankets up to cover herself, mortified at what had just happened, and at what she had allowed to happen the previous night.

She had seen precisely one of the things she had set out to see when she first decided to do this story; she had witnessed the group of activists she hoped to infiltrate committing criminal acts - breaking and entering, vandalism and theft. And instead of feeling satisfied knowing that she was right, she had felt entirely hollow. Yes, they were criminals, but seeing the way those birds had been kept she understood why they felt justified in doing what they did. The experience had left her feeling hollow and empty, unsure if she should continue at all. When Peeta had awoken and come to comfort her she had been completely torn about whether or not to abandon the story. After all, she had only just begun her research, it wasn't like she would be abandoning it after months of hard work.

Then there was the matter of Peeta himself. As he comforted her she wanted him to make her feel human again, to stop her feeling so damn hollow, to fill her up (both literally and figuratively) with that part of him that seemed so full of humanity. She hated herself for using him in that way, for playing with his emotions to satisfy her own short term needs.

He had already tried to kiss her this morning; he already thought that last night meant more than it did. And it was apparent that he was beginning to realise the same. The smile that had been plastered across his face was slowly fading; the colour flushing his cheeks was beginning to drain and be replaced by a rather grey pallor.

He quickly found his discarded boxers and pulled them on, following them with his jeans. The hurt in his eyes was obvious. Katniss felt a giant pang of remorse. The idea that it might never happen between them again caused her a lot of pain; much more than she would have expected it to.

"Peeta…" Katniss began.

"It's ok," Peeta said, not looking at her. "I understand. I really do."

"No, you don't."

"Yeah, Katniss. It was meaningless. I get it." He smiled bitterly to himself and stood up, hobbling slightly as he walked towards the living room door. His hand was on the handle and he was just about to leave the room.

"Wait!" called Katniss, standing up and wrapping the blanket around her for modesty as she did so. Every rational fibre of her being told her to stop what she was about to do, to walk away from the mess she had unwittingly created, leave it before she made the whole situation worse, but she didn't want to listen to rationality for a change. "I don't usually…do….that. Not so soon anyway. Maybe we could just slow it down… see what happens?" She reached up and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek, and her heart melted slightly as his shy smile started to lift the corners of his mouth up.

"You don't regret anything?"

"No!" she protested, although it wasn't entirely the truth. She was regretting getting involved in this whole idea in the first place. "But let's just take it as it comes, ok?" She stared in to the depths of his blue eyes, both wanting to connect with what lay behind them and yet terrified at the same time.

"Ok," he agreed, and he gently kissed her forehead before taking a deep breath.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," he said before hitching a grin on to his face. "I guess I'm gonna have to go and face the music. I'll try and stop him being too embarrassing to you."

He turned away from her and she couldn't help but admire the muscles across his shoulders and back. He had a third tattoo that she hadn't noticed previously; a phoenix taking flight across his right shoulder, wings outstretched as it rose from flames.

"Is that all of them?" she asked before he could leave the living room.

"Huh?" he said as he turned back to face her.

"Your tattoos? Are there any I've missed?"

"Yeah, that's it. I mean, I did have another one, but… well, it's gone now."

"You had it removed?"

"Ummm. Kind of. Not intentionally."

His gaze momentarily flicked down to his artificial leg and Katniss' mouth formed a round 'o' in understanding. It had been a shock to see the mix of plastic, metal, latex and silicone where ordinarily there would be flesh, skin and bone. She had tried to keep the visible shock to a minimum as it clearly caused him a great deal of pain and embarrassment, and last night she had wanted him so badly that she didn't want to do anything to jeopardise that. "Is that why you were in hospital that time?" she asked.

He swallowed thickly and nodded. "Uh-huh."

"What happened?"

"Maybe another time," he replied, his face getting redder with each second.

She didn't want to press the issue, so allowed him to head out to the kitchen as she gathered her clothes. Moments later she heard a loud whooping sound. She peered around the door frame and down the corridor into the kitchen. She could see Annie sat at the table smiling as she sipped at a glass of fruit juice, while Finnick had Peeta in a headlock and was roughly ruffling his hair, Peeta struggling to get away.

Katniss rolled her eyes at the display but couldn't help but smile a little. She quickly got dressed in her regular clothes and steeled herself before heading out to the kitchen. Finnick had calmed down somewhat but was still grinning from ear to ear.

"Can I get you anything?" Peeta asked Katniss as she came and sat down.

"I think you've already given her enough, mate."

"Finn, stop. That's enough," said Annie. "Ignore him," she said, turning to Katniss.

"I'm going to have to change my serenades to you now," Finnick continued, eyeing Peeta mischievously.

"Katniss, can I get you anything?" Peeta repeated, trying not to rise to whatever bait Finnick was setting.

"Tea would be nice, thank you."

"Ok, I have English breakfast, chai, vanilla chai, Earl Grey, Lady Grey, Assam-"

"English breakfast is fine, thanks," she said, cutting him off before he could reel off another long list.

"Maybe I should do it one last time, you know, for old time's sake," said Finnick.

"Do whatever you want mate, you'll only be embarrassing yourself."

Finnick vanished out of the kitchen and returned just moments later carrying a guitar and a pair of thick rimmed glasses. He put the glasses on and began to speak in a really terrible impression of a New Zealand accent. "This one's called ' _Peet, You Got It Going On._ '"

"Seriously mate, don't bother."

" _Hey there Peet, I see you looking down_

_Don't want to see my little buddy there with a frown-_ "

"Milk and sugar?" Peeta shouted over the top of Finnick singing.

" _Well just because I get more women than you_

_That's only because they don't know you like I do-_ "

"Milk and three, please," responded Katniss, giggling at Finnick's antics.

" _Sure you're weedy and kinda shy but some girly out there must be needy for a weedy shy guy-_ "

"Three?! You'll get two."

"I like three."

" _They want you as the needle when they're rolling in the hay_

_Just here me out when I say-_ "

"And I refuse to put more than two sugars in anything. You can't taste the tea with that much sugar in it."

" _Peet you got it going on,_

_The ladies'll get to know your sexuality when they get to know your personality-_ "

"Do you want to take these outside?" Peeta shouted again, clearly doing his best to ignore Finnick's singing but getting redder and redder by the moment.

" _I said, Peet you got it going on,_

_Not in a gay way, just in a hey mate I wanted to say that you're looking ok way._ "

"If you'd prefer," said Katniss, still unable to stop herself giggling.

" _Why can't a heterosexual guy tell a heterosexual guy that he thinks his booty is fly_

_Not all the time obviously, just when he's got a problem with his self-esteem-_ "

"Can you get the door for me?"

Katniss held the door open as Peeta grabbed hold of the mugs and walked through.

" _Don't let anybody tell you you're not humpable, because you're bumpable,_

_Well I hope this doesn't make you feel uncomfortable-_ "

"Shut it, Finn," said Peeta as he slammed the door shut in his friend's face. He turned to Katniss and handed her a mug of tea. "I'm so sorry about that."

"It's ok," Katniss replied, smiling. "Why is there a guitar here anyway? I thought you said you weren't musical."

"I'm not. It's Finn's. He keeps it here to torment me."

"And does it?" she asked, still giggling slightly.

"Not usually. But then I don't usually have a beautiful, intelligent woman that I'm trying to impress in my home." Katniss found herself growing warmer under his intense stare. "So… What are you doing today? Will you have to head back?"

His tone sounded light but Katniss took in the concern in his face, his knotted eyebrows, his slightly raised and tense shoulders. He wanted her to stay longer and she realised that she wanted it too.

"I could stick around a little longer. See how your new residents are."

He visibly relaxed. "I'll go up and check on them in a bit. Finn said he looked in this morning and they were all ok, but I'd like to get a vet out to give them all a once over."

She nodded but hadn't really been taking in what he was saying. She had found her eyes drifting over his body. In the light of day she could see how pale his skin was, how a fine smattering of hair covered his chest and taught stomach, and how that hair grew thicker and darker just under his belly button. She couldn't help but picture him naked again; his erection had been a good length – not quite the longest she'd seen, but certainly the thickest. She felt a rush of warmth between her legs as she remembered the feeling of that girth moving inside her. She smiled inwardly at his honesty as well, how he admitted that he hadn't been with another woman in a long time and he knew he wouldn't last as a result. Not many men that she knew would have either been that honest, or given that much of a damn about pleasuring the woman. She'd also been amazed by his incredibly quick recovery time, although she was a little disappointed that she still didn't know what that soft stubble of his felt like brushing over her inner thighs…

"Katniss?" Peeta's voice broke through her thoughts. She stared at him and the amused look on his face.

"Oh god," she said, heat flooding her cheeks. "I did it again, didn't I?"

"I'm afraid so."

"I'm really sorry, I was just a little…."

"Distracted? I guess I should take it as a compliment."

"Please do if it stops me looking rude. What were you saying?"

"Would you like breakfast?"

"Sure. What have you got?" Katniss prepared herself for a long list of options, and sure enough she wasn't disappointed.

"Whatever you want. I've got the usuals – cereal, toast, porridge - or I can make you pancakes if you want, French toast, I could make some granola to have with a yoghurt, I could do you a fry up, you name it."

"Ok, ok! What are you having? I'll have whatever you're having."

He thought about it for a moment or two. "Pancakes. A giant stack of pancakes. What do you want in yours?"

"Jesus, Peeta, whatever you're having, I don't mind!"

"Well that's no fun. If we're having the same there's no point in sharing with each other."

"And what makes you think I'd want to share?"

He pretended to be upset and pouted, his bottom lip sticking out, and Katniss had to suppress the urge to rush to him and kiss, suck and nibble on those lips of his. "I'd share with you."

She smiled. He really hadn't been lying when he'd said how much he loved food. "Surprise me then."

"Sit down, I'll bring them out as soon as they're done."

She took a seat at the small table on the patio. The sun was coming up on the other side of the house, casting the entire patio in to shadow. Despite the shade it was already warm out back. After a moment or two she realised that she had to see those trees again, and walked through the honeysuckle arch to look down at the garden and the woods beyond. Knowing that the sun was currently directly behind her, she thought about how spectacular sunsets would be in this garden and was a little disappointed that she managed to miss it the night before. She wondered how easily Peeta could be persuaded to let her stay another night…

Her phone vibrated in her pocket, making her jump slightly. She took it out and instantly noticed Gale's name had flashed up on the screen with a text.

_Where the hell are you? Call me!_

She glanced behind her through the back door. She could see Peeta bent over the work surface, measuring ingredients in to a bowl while Finnick stood near him, still playing guitar. He was distracted enough that she could risk a quick phone call, but to be safe she wandered further down the garden. She leant on the paddock fence and watched as Sterling the lamb skipped around his grazing mother and dialled Gale's number. He answered after just one ring.

"Katniss, where are you?"

"I'm in Suffolk," she said, keeping her voice low.

"Why, of all places on earth, are you in Suffolk?"

"Gale, I can't talk long, I'm with one of the activists I had on file. He'll be back soon."

"Oh?" he said, his interest piqued. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It was pretty last minute," she lied. Why she was lying to Gale, she didn't know. Why she hadn't told him she was going up to interview Peeta was a mystery even to herself.

"How's it going?" he asked her.

"Good. I broke in to a farm with them last night. I think they trust me."

"Ha! That was quick! Katniss Everdeen strikes again! Idiots. Let me know when you need me."

"They're not idiots, Gale," snapped Katniss, instantly wishing that she hadn't.

Silence for a moment. "Just remember why you're there, Katniss."

"I know," she said, exasperated with her friend.

"And remember that I thought this was a bad idea from the start."

"I know."

"And stay safe."

"I know!" Katniss hissed. "Look, he's coming back," she lied again. "I have to go. I'll call you soon." She hung up the phone, now feeling guilty about lying to one of her oldest friends as well as to Peeta. She returned to the patio and could see him through a window, now stood over the hob, ladling batter into a frying pan. She smiled at the look of concentration on his face, and sat back down, taking a sip of tea. Despite it only having two sugars instead of her usual three it wasn't too bad.

As she drained the last of her cup the back door opened and Peeta came out bearing a tray with three plates, which he placed on the table on front of her. Each plate bore two crepe style pancakes, delicately folded in half and dusted with icing sugar, decorated on top with an elegantly sliced and fanned strawberry.

"This is incredible," Katniss breathed, her mouth watering. "Seriously. But why three plates?"

"You can choose which you want, then I'll choose, and Finnick gets what's left." He turned to the kitchen door and raised his voice. "Arseholes don't get choices."

"So what have I got to choose from?"

"This one's chocolate and strawberry, this one's peach and raspberry and this is peanut butter, banana and maple syrup."

She stared at him open mouthed. "Do you do this every day? You're not giving me special treatment, I hope?"

"No," he said. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards slightly. "Well, maybe slightly special treatment. But I love cooking for people, so it's fine. Anyway, which one do you want?"

"God, all of them."

"Ok. But what do you want as your main one?"

"Chocolate. Every time."

Peeta smiled as he placed the chocolate and strawberry crepes in front of her, then cut a sizeable portion away from the peach and raspberry and pushed it on to her plate. He then took the remainder inside and handed it to Finnick. Katniss laughed as she heard Finnick's indignant cry of "What the fuck's this?" drifting outside, followed by Peeta's reply of "Serves you right for being a dick."

As Peeta returned to Katniss with a jug of orange juice and two glasses in his hands, Finnick's final comeback, "It was totally worth it!" followed him out.

"Here," Peeta cut a piece away from his own crepes and gave this to Katniss too, before finally sitting down at the table with her and pouring them both a glass of juice.

"I can't eat all this!"

"Then you're really going to regret not wanting to share," Peeta winked at her.

She ate until she was stuffed, but still couldn't bring herself to stop; it was all just too delicious. "Please," she begged him, "Help me eat this."

"That's the kind of nagging I can handle," he said as he held out his empty to plate to her. He finished her leftovers in just three large bites and sighed appreciatively.

Katniss had been watching him closely. If they'd met under different circumstances, maybe there could have been a future… He'd certainly make a good husband for someone one day. The thought made her stomach drop.

Peeta looked up and saw Katniss staring at him. "Is everything ok?" he asked.

She nodded. "Thank you," she said. "For your generosity. For making me feel so welcome. For….well…. for everything."

"You're not going yet, are you?" he asked, sounding slightly panicked.

"No. I just wanted to thank you."

"You're welcome," he smiled.

They both jumped slightly as the back door opened. Annie leant round the corner, "Peeta?" she asked. "What would you like us to do? Please feel free to give Finnick anything you really don't want to do."

"Doesn't Finn have work?"

"He swapped his shift so he could help you out today."

"Oh, well now I feel guilty about making him clean up pig shit."

"Don't," Annie smiled, and she disappeared inside. Moments later Finnick came outside striding straight past them. "Dickhead," he said, grinning, as he strode past Peeta. As he disappeared under the honeysuckle arch he called back, "It's still worth it!"

"How do you put up with it?" Katniss asked as she watched Finnick disappear.

"He doesn't mean anything bad by it," replied Peeta. "And besides, he's helped me out over the last couple of years. A lot. More than I can ever repay him for. Annie too."

He looked lost in painful memories and Katniss wanted to reach out and touch him, to comfort him, but she wasn't sure how. In the end she decided that distraction may be his best bet.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go check on your new family members."

\---------------------------------------------------

A vet was called out to have a look at the eight new hens. Peeta had moved them from the spare room to the kitchen so that the vet could examine them on the table with ease. They were all given vaccination shots, and Peeta was given a topical cream to use on their skin; some had minor cuts and welts to their skin which needed healing. All were underweight and needed a heavy calorie diet to get their weight back up to a healthy level, and all were missing feathers on their necks and bodies. One or two were almost completely featherless.

"They should be ok in this heat," said Peeta to Katniss. "If it was winter I'd have to source them some knitted body warmers. We'll have to be careful they don't get sunburn though."

Katniss snorted but quelled under the look Peeta flashed her. He was actually being serious.

"We'll take them out just a couple at a time so we can keep an eye on them. We'll set up the rabbit run somewhere with access to some shade so they can be outside but stay away from the other hens for now – we'll have to introduce them slowly once they've got their strength up a bit. For now they'll do better to stay indoors with the rabbits and guineas. There's a couple of spare enclosures in there, so they'll be separated still."

Together they moved the pet carriers outside to the where the small animals where housed. As the sun blazed down upon him, Peeta set up the rabbit run and took one of the carriers out to it. He set it down in the run and opened it up. For the longest time nothing happened but Peeta stayed patient, watching intently. After a few minutes one of the hens seemed to realise that they were no longer caged and slowly ventured outside. Katniss glanced at Peeta who was shaking slightly with the effort of holding in his emotions; tears swam behind his bright blue eyes. As both hens left the carrier behind, and they started to scratch in the dirt and stretch out their scrawny, featherless wings the tears fell. He wiped them from his face, smiling as he did so and reached for Katniss' hand, squeezing it tightly. The look of pride and joy on his face melted Katniss' heart and she couldn't help but share in his happy tears.

He allowed another two hens to join them in the run. Like before, the hens seemed scared to leave the carriers behind at first but with a little patience they understood their new found freedom. Peeta watched them enjoy the sun, the grass and the dirt for a good forty-five minutes before he said, "I think the others deserve a go, don't you?"

He picked them up one at a time, gently cradling them in his arms, before he moved them indoors to one of the free enclosures. He had already set up some hay and some soft blankets on the floor, and filled a couple of bowls with grain and water for them. He placed the hens one at a time gently inside the enclosure, watching them again for a few minutes until he was satisfied that they would be ok.

He repeated the whole routine with the other four hens, giving each of them the individual time and attention they needed to realise they were safe in their new giant world. Katniss couldn't help but be moved as she watched the love and care he gave to each of the creatures. Not only would he make a great husband, he'd be a pretty great dad too.

Finnick came over as Peeta began to move the final four hens in to the second free indoor enclosure. He had removed his t-shirt, and his bronzed body glistened slightly with sweat. He was utterly beautiful, she could see that, but she could also see that he knew it and that was always a turn off for her. She wondered how someone like Annie, demure and quiet as she was, coped with a partner who had such a brash attitude.

Once Peeta came back outside Finnick spoke. "How are they getting on?"

"Not bad," replied Peeta. "Shy and frightened, but that's pretty normal."

As the two of them spoke Katniss couldn't help but compare them to each other; Finnick was long, lean and toned, while Peeta was shorter and much broader. She noted how Finnick's reddish hair, while tousled with sweat, still seemed to look perfectly coiffured, while Peeta's damp blonde curls were already starting to lay flat against his head. Finnick's bronze skin seemed to make Peeta's pale skin shine even whiter in comparison, and Katniss noticed how he was growing pink across the tops of his shoulders. She compared their bearings; Finnick stood straight and proud, and Peeta's limp was beginning to manifest again. And yet, seeing Peeta stood next to Finnick, this perfect specimen, just made him all the more endearing to her.

"Are you checking us out?" Finnick's voice cut in to her thoughts.

"What? No!"

"Yeah you were. Can't say I blame you," he said, while striking a ludicrous pose.

Katniss snorted, while Peeta said, "Come on, let's go in, I think we've all earned a break."

While Peeta had been attending the new hens, and Finnick had been feeding and mucking out the pigs, sheep and other hens, Annie had taken Belle for a walk and had done all the feeding and cleaning duties for the cats. Finnick had fed and cleaned the rabbits and guinea pigs while the vet had been out, meaning that what would usually take Peeta an entire day to do alone had been achieved in half the time.

"You need to get someone here to help you, Peeta," Annie said to him as they sat around the kitchen table drinking iced tea and nibbling on a plate of sandwiches Peeta had thrown together. "You can't expect to do everything alone."

"Yeah, well, I tried to get help. Didn't exactly work in my favour, did it?"

"So try again!" said Finnick. "Find someone who you actually _can_ trust to come in. And at the very least don't leave them alone here after just a day and a half. Seriously Peet, that was just asking for trouble."

"I know, alright? Fuck's sake, don't patronise me."

"Just trying to help."

Katniss suddenly felt hugely awkward sitting around with this group of friends trying to offer Peeta advice on trust. She knew she was treading very dangerous waters herself but kept convincing herself to ignore the little voice of conscience that kept telling her to stop and back away while she still could. Peeta's mood had turned suddenly sour, and she couldn't help but picture how much worse it would be when he found out how she really was. ' _Stop this, Katniss_ ,' she thought to herself. ' _Make your excuses and leave, and don't come back. Just go_.' But despite her mind screaming at her, her body stayed resolutely still.

"Anyway," said Finnick, clearly trying to lighten the mood. "What are you going to do now you've got a free afternoon?"

"I dunno," he replied sullenly, while pushing his hair back off his face. "I guess I should try and get some work done."

"Come on, Peet, you're always working. Have a bit of fun for a change."

"Easy for you to say. You've not got bills coming out your fucking arse and no money coming in."

"Tell you what," said Katniss. "I've got some work to be getting on with too. But I really want to explore those woods later. We'll both sit down for a couple of hours, get what we can done, and you can take me for a walk after. Maybe a picnic too?"

His mouth twitched upwards slightly. "Deal."

\---------------------------------------------------

Finnick and Annie left shortly after they all finished lunch at Annie's suggestion. Finnick had wanted to stick around to try and tempt Peeta away from work but had given up the idea after several pointed looks from Annie.

Katniss hadn't exactly lied when she'd told Peeta that she wrote short stories, blog posts and fluffy articles. They were her daily bread and butter, but her big stories were what she lived for. She decided she would sit quietly with her note book while Peeta got on with a commissioned painting.

She watched him set up his easel, affixing a large canvas carefully in place. He then blu-tacked a photograph of a proud ginger tom cat with its fluffy tail curled round its feet to the top of the easel, picked up a pencil and immediately began to sketch. She was fascinated watching him work; the concentration in his face, the way his tongue just poked out the side of his mouth as he focused in on some detail or other, the way he swore softly under his breath if said detail hadn't gone precisely to plan…

She was so busy watching him work that she hadn't begun to set pen to paper at all and found that her mind was pretty blank of ideas. She flashed another glance at him; he still hadn't put a shirt on all day. Whether he had done this because of the intense heat, or whether he was subconsciously still trying to flirt with her, she didn't know but welcomed the view either way. She also began to wonder if he ever extended the subjects of his artwork to humans, rather than just animals. The swooping sensation in her stomach and rush of heat to her core as she pictured posing for him gave her all the inspiration she needed to start writing a short story, about a sexy blond artist falling for the model in his life drawing class, despite it being against all professional conduct, and how they carried on their illicit affair, even under the nose of the teacher and all the other students, finally admitting what they had was far more than just incredibly hot sex, that they were actually head over heels in love.

The story seemed to write itself; once she had the initial idea she didn't put her pen down until it was finished. She would submit it to the publishers at Now! before she tried any other magazine; they always seemed to be interested in any fictional love stories she wrote and they always paid well for them.

Satisfied with the afternoon's work she looked back up at Peeta. He held a palette in one hand, a paint brush between his teeth, and he worked at the canvas directly with his fingers. Colourful little splashes of paint were visible on his face and torso, and even as she watched him he wiped his hands down the front of his jeans before taking the paint brush from between his teeth and leaning in close to the canvas to work at a detail. He stood back away for a second, brow furrowed in concentration.

"How's it going?" Katniss called out, causing him to jump slightly.

"Not bad," he replied thoughtfully, eyes still on the canvas. "I'm not sure I can do much more at the moment though."

"Can I see?"

"There's really not much to see," he laughed but stood back anyway. Katniss jumped up and rushed round to have a look. The canvas was a mess of colour, with a cat shaped blob in the middle. He hadn't been lying. "It'll improve with each layer," Peeta said, seeing the look of disappointment on her face. "I'll have to let each layer dry, then build up the detail as it goes. That's the thing with oils. It takes ages, but I can charge much more than I could for an acrylic painting and heaps more than a simple water colour." He stood and looked at the canvas a few moments longer before tearing his eyes away. "How did you get on?"

"Good thanks. I wrote a short story. It's hardly highbrow, but the right magazine will probably pay a good three hundred quid or so for it."

"Can I read it?"

Katniss felt her face grow hot. It could not be more obvious who her inspiration for the story was. She found the idea of him reading it, knowing who it was about, equally a little scary and thrilling. "Perhaps. Ply me with a glass or two of wine and I could be open to suggestions," she said, stepping a little closer to him.

His pupils dilated with desire as he swallowed thickly. "I better get a couple of bottles in the fridge then."

He carefully stepped around her and as he did so Katniss couldn't help but glance down, noticing with satisfaction how much tighter his jeans appeared to be over his crotch. He returned after a few minutes, stuck his head around the door and said, "I'm just going to get cleaned up. Help yourself to anything you need to relax."

"I should probably get myself clean too," Katniss replied.

"Would you like to shower first?"

"I haven't got anything clean to change into. I wasn't expecting to be up here quite so long."

"Borrow something of mine, then," he insisted.

"No offence, Peeta. You're clothes are massive."

"I don't care, I like seeing you in them."

She felt an uncomfortable squirm in her stomach. He was simply too good, too kind, too willing to help. And also too obviously attracted to her. And she enjoyed that knowledge too much for either of their good. She swallowed her nerves away, and allowed the fantasy to continue. "Sure," she said. "Help me pick something."

She followed him upstairs and in to his bedroom, constantly fighting the inner turmoil as her rational head screamed at her to walk away. A large bookshelf occupied one wall of his room, and this was completely filled with neatly stacked and arranged comics, graphic novels and from the look of it his own sketch books. She longed to pick one up off the shelf and flick through at her leisure, but knew how rude it would be to help herself.

The rest of his room seemed pretty haphazard; a chair was just about visible underneath a heap of clothes, one door of his wardrobe hung open, and more clothes were visible that had just been stuffed inside instead of being hung up. A pile of DVDs sat next to a small fourteen inch television. The bed had been made (although Katniss had to remind herself that Annie and Finnick had slept in here last night, and the bed had probably been made by Annie this morning,) and lying on top of it, Peeta's three cats. She recognised Zippy, the noisy cat she had met the day before, and assumed the biggest of the three, going by what Peeta had said about them, would be Bungle, meaning the smallest cat, curled in to a tight little ball, would be George. Peeta said hello to each of them briefly before saying, "I'm really sorry it's a mess in here. I don't ever really have time to tidy it."

"Don't apologise."

He smiled tightly but still looked embarrassed. Taking a deep breath he said, "Well, let's find you some clothes, then."

They rooted through the drawers and wardrobe together, finally settling on a pair of cargo pants that Katniss had to tighten with a belt to keep up, as well as a short sleeved blue and white checked cotton shirt that she tied up at the front. Peeta found her a clean towel and she got in to the shower with relief from the heat. Katniss picked up a bar of deep orange soap, and felt a rush of excitement as she realised it was the same, citrusy, spicy scent that she had smelled on Peeta before. She lathered up the soap and covered her entire body with the spicy bubbles, inhaling deeply and finding the scent both relaxing and stimulating.

She finally got out of the shower, towelled herself rigorously and dressed in Peeta's overlarge clothes, finding she didn't actually care how ridiculous she looked. She didn't want to have to put the same underwear on that she had been wearing for the last two days, and decided her best bet was to go commando. She wondered how Peeta would react if he knew and felt those swooping butterflies in her stomach again.

When she stepped out of the bathroom she called Peeta to tell him the room was free. He came out of his room, a towel thrown over his shoulder, and the want on his face was entirely undisguised.

"You look…"

"Ridiculous, I know."

"I was going to say amazing."

"Don't be silly. I'll be out back, ok?"

He nodded and passed by her, and Katniss couldn't help but notice he was aroused again. Had it really only been this morning that she told him she wanted to just wait and see what happened? That she wanted to take it slowly? How could she possibly have said that? She shook herself and went downstairs to wait for him, thinking all the time of his lips, his strong, supple hands, and how stretched and full she had felt as he entered her… She wanted that feeling again, more than anything, even if this crazy fantasy was doomed to not last she had to have him again, and she knew that if she played her cards right she could easily make that a reality.


	12. Chapter 11 - Katniss

The woods were exactly as Katniss had pictured them. Golden light fell through the canopy of leaves, dappling the ground, and the glorious shade provided a wonderful respite from the most intense and prolonged heat wave England had seen in years.

Being so close to nature took Katniss back to her childhood; endless summer days where she would run, climb and play, where Prim would beg her not to go so high up the trees, and, laughing, she would carry on just to prove that she could.

She felt overcome with an urge to relive one of those childhood summers and as soon as she spotted a likely looking tree, with plenty of wide branches, nodules and footholds, she ran towards it and was standing on the first level of branches within seconds, looking for a way to get higher. Peeta caught up with her and stood underneath, looking up towards her.

"That was impressive," he said, grinning.

"Why don't you come up and join me?"

"Nah, you're alright, I'm happy just watching you."

"Come on, it's easy!" Katniss said, disappearing in to a higher set of branches and quickly spying a pathway to get even higher. As she hauled herself up she spotted a squirrel watching her inquisitively. She stayed perfectly still, allowing the squirrel to come a little closer, until it was almost close enough for her to reach out and touch. Knowing how much he would love to see this little critter getting closer and closer, she ducked her head back down to see where he was and was a little disappointed to see him still stood on the ground, gazing up through the canopy towards her.

"Peeta, you've got to see this," she hissed.

"I can't, Katniss," he said apologetically.

Of course he couldn't, how had she forgotten? How could she be so tactless, especially when his disability was such a source of worry and unease to him? Her initial excitement faded and she shimmied her way back down to ground level to stay with him. "I'm really sorry," she said.

"Don't be," he said firmly. "You didn't need to come back down on my account. But I'm glad you did. I've got a present for you." He was hiding something behind his back, and a shy lopsided smile had spread across his face.

"A present?" she asked.

"Here." He held out his hand towards her; he was carrying a bunch of dandelions. "I promised you some more when we met."

Her heart melted just a little more as she reached out and took the dandelions from him, the shy smile on his face widening to a grin. "Thank you," she said. "We should probably get these in some water."

"We can head back whenever you're ready. And I can look after them if you want to climb more trees."

She chuckled a little. "I think I've got that out of my system for now. But you know, if I lived here, I'd probably be down here every single day."

"If you lived here so would I."

It was statements like this that made her the most uncomfortable, as they reminded her that Peeta seemed to see something in their future that she knew could never exist. But what if….? What if she allowed there to be a possibility, no matter how small? It was a strange and almost frightening concept at first but as she thought on it the idea filled her chest with unexpected warmth.

"Come on," she said, marvelling at that feeling. "I'm getting hungry. How about that picnic?"

She held her free hand out towards him, and as their fingers interlocked once more her eyes drifted closed, and she felt a rush of adrenaline, as if she was falling fast through the air. She gripped his hand tighter like a lifeline and together they began the walk back towards Peeta's home.

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She couldn't believe the ease with which he was able to put together a spread for a picnic. Thick slices of rustic artisan bread spread with creamy cashew cheese, toasted pita with various dips, mixed bean salad, potato salad, long slices of ice cold watermelon and more of those speciality cupcakes that Peeta had such a talent for decorating.

They laid out a blanket at the top of the garden. As well as the food, Peeta brought out one of the bottles of wine he had put in the fridge to chill, as well as a digital radio to provide a little background music. He poured each of them a glass of white then raised his glass to her. "Cheers," he said.

"Cheers." She took a sip, sighing with appreciation as she did so.

"What Shakespeare did you study at school?"

The non sequitur threw her slightly. "Why do you want to know?"

"I need to name the new hens, so I need eight Shakespearean ladies. I thought you could help me pick some names."

"I see. We did Henry V for GCSE, but I'll be damned if I can remember a thing about it. Was there a Katherine in that? It sounds familiar."

"Katherine it is, then. I can call her Kat for short." He winked at her as he raised his glass to her once more.

"You can't name one of them after me!" said Katniss, feeling herself flushing.

"I'm not!" he protested innocently. "Inspired by but not named after! But you can pick who gets that name. Come on, we need seven more."

"If there's a Kat, you should have a Peeta as well."

"No can do, Shakespearean women only."

Katniss took her phone out and looked up an A-Z of Shakespearean characters. "There was a Peto in Henry IV, apparently."

"Pretty sure Peto was a bloke."

"Oh, come on, you can make an exception. Peto and Katherine. They could be best friends."

He was quiet for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. "Ok. I'll make an exception this once. We still need six more."

They bandied ideas back and forth, finally settling on Portia, Hermia, Helena, Miranda, Jessica and Rosalind. While they were talking the sun had been getting lower and lower bathing the wide open sky in muted orange and pink, highlighting the few clouds with golden edging. Katniss was right – sunsets here were spectacular.

"This is my favourite time of day," Peeta said.

"I can see why," agreed Katniss. "This is just perfect." She gazed over the horizon, soaking up every smallest detail of the view and not wanting to miss a moment. She took a slow sip of her wine and looked away from the sky to see Peeta watching her, a hungry expression in his eyes.

After a while he tore his gaze away from her, returning it to the sunset. "So, do you think you've had enough wine to let me read your story yet?

"Maybe soon," she smiled, still finding the idea of Peeta reading her short story thrilling. She wondered how he would react, and felt the all too familiar butterflies in her stomach. The radio caught Katniss' attention; The Beatles _With a Little Help From My Friends_ was playing. "Can you turn it up a little?" she asked. Peeta obliged, and she stretched her legs out, leant back with her glass of wine, and lost herself in the music. Without even realising that she had started, she found herself singing along. She looked up to see Peeta watching her, slightly open mouthed, just as she sung the line, " _Would you believe in a love at first sight? Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time._ ' Their eyes met and she stopped singing, holding his gaze, fully aware of the implications of what she had just sung.

She could see his breath catch in his throat and he was watching her with an intensity she had never seen. "You're amazing," he breathed, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. "Just….amazing." She broke his gaze and he seemed to come back to himself, awakening from the spell she had temporarily cast. "Do you play guitar at all?"

"A little," she admitted. "I'm not bad. Not great, but not bad."

"But you know some songs? I'd give anything to hear you sing more."

At that moment he could have asked anything of her and she would have had a hard time denying him. "Ok," she agreed, and he immediately stood up and rushed inside, giving her a chance to reflect.

_Would you believe in a love at first sight?_

She never would have thought such a thing possible. Attraction, yes, of course. And you could like someone immediately, but love? Surely not. Love had to develop over time. It was why she had never been in love; she'd had relationships but never had the time to allow them to blossom, eventually preferring casual sex to anything more meaningful. And yet none of the other men she had been with gave her those butterflies that she kept getting around Peeta. Aside from Gale, she had never found another man so easy to talk to. No other man made her feel as beautiful or as wanted as he did.

_I'm certain that it happens all the time_.

Could it really happen all the time? She'd read tales of people saying they just knew when they met someone but had always dismissed it as nonsense. What if these butterflies, what if the ever present guilt over the lies, what if the constant hunger to be closer was evidence of something she had never believed in? She shook herself back to reality. Love at first sight was a myth, surely? A ludicrous fantasy…

Peeta returned with Finnick's guitar, handed it over to her then sat back down on the picnic blanket and waited expectantly. Her mind went blank for a moment then she started randomly strumming chords, play a D shape and moving it up and down the fretboard, stopping at the seventh fret. She plucked at couple of strings, the sound bringing one of her favourite songs back to her. Moving from playing lead to strumming chords she began to sing.

" _Two of us riding nowhere, spending someone's hard earned pay_

_You and me Sunday driving, not arriving on our way back home,_

_We're on our way home, we're on our way home,_

_We're going home._ "

Peeta's eyes had drifted closed as he listened to her sing. A solitary tear escaped the corner of his eye and was trailing a path down his cheek. Worry bubbled up inside Katniss and she stopped singing immediately. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," he said, opening his eyes, and those bright blue orbs were swimming with more tears. "It's just beautiful. Seriously, I don't think I've ever heard a voice like yours. Please don't stop."

"Don't exaggerate, it's embarrassing."

"I'm really not," he protested. "You are amazing."

She felt her cheeks flush with heat, and longed to be a little closer to him. "Let me teach you something simple."

"Oh, no, Katniss, I'm terrible with anything musical, I really can't."

"Nonsense. Here." She handed the guitar to him. "You're right handed?" He nodded in confirmation. "Then this will be easy."

She placed the guitar in his lap, positioned his left hand over the fretboard and sat just behind him, her hand covering his. "First chord is G." She moved his fingers into position with a little difficulty; his hands were tense and resisted at first, but once in position she told him to strum. The resultant chord buzzed and vibrated and sounded strangely distorted.

"Told you," Peeta said. "Music and me don't mix."

"You're just being too forceful, is all. Relax. Don't press so hard. Try again."

He did as she asked, and while the chord buzzed less, it was still distorted.

"Ok," she smiled. "You do the left hand, I'll do the right, ok? Just keep it relaxed."

The look of pride of Peeta's face as together they produced a reasonable sounding chord melted Katniss even further. "Ok," she said, tearing her eyes away from his face." Next chord is E Minor. This is pretty much the simplest chord you can do." She positioned his hand once again until he could form the shape, while she strummed the chords.

She worked her way through a few basic chords, G, E Minor, D, C and A, and made him practise them again and again until he could remember the shapes on his own, even if it took him a few seconds to form them. Eventually she said, "I think we're ready to try a song."

She could feel him tense, but he said, "Ok. I'm sorry in advance for ruining it."

"Don't be silly. You remember the order? When I squeeze your shoulder change to the next one, ok?"

As they played guitar together, Katniss began to sing; an old Ocean Colour Scene B-side that she'd loved since she was a kid.

" _When you're starting to choke, take some pills with your coke, it's inspirational  
When your life is a mess light one more cigarette it's so logical_

_Well it's something your mother can't abide  
But it's something that I freely prescribe_

_Take yourself for a ride, it never felt so good_  
As the night that you and I played Robin Hood  
Stealing from the backrooms of my mind  
Remembering a time when we were five  
A time I thought we'd left behind 

_When you're starting to cry come and sit by my side and I will love you so_  
And when the nightmares come I will try to be fun, even though  
I'm so scared you know"

There was still another verse and chorus to go, and it had already taken several minutes of broken playing to get to this point, but Peeta let go of the guitar, pushing it away from him, taking Katniss entirely by surprise. He turned his body to meet hers, and pulled her towards him, their lips meeting furiously.

"I'm sorry," he breathed, as he pulled away from her. "I couldn't help it. You have no idea the effect you have on me."

"I think I have a vague idea," she said, leaning back in to him and parting her lips. She darted her tongue along his lower lip, and Katniss could taste the sweetness of one his chai cupcakes, the vanilla combined with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. She gently sucked his lip into her mouth nibbling softly along the sensitive flesh and capturing the rumble of pleasure that issued from deep within his chest. She reached up and stroked the side of his face, and felt heat and wetness pool at her core as she realised he still hadn't shaved. The thought of how that stubble might feel against her inner thighs was at the forefront of her mind again, and she pushed closer into him, wanting to show him her need.

He seemed to take the hint. Reaching towards the borrowed shirt she was wearing, he hurriedly undid several buttons and slid his hand inside, roughly pulling the thin cotton of her bra to one side. The cool night air caused her nipple to pucker and harden almost immediately, and Peeta groaned his appreciation as he took the nub of flesh between his thumb and forefinger, pinching and teasing and delighting in every gasp and sigh it caused Katniss to produce.

She needed more from him and shifted closer to him, running her fingers just along the top of his waistband. She felt his stomach muscles contract under her touch, and broke away from her kiss, gasping for air. "Katniss," he gasped into the crook of her neck, "Can we go inside? I feel too exposed out here."

She nodded her approval and was pleased to see his pupils dilate in arousal. A mischievous smile spread across his face as he stood up and screwed the lid back on top of the wine. "Hold these," he said, handing the glasses and the half empty bottle to Katniss. "Don't drop them."

"Ok," she said slowly. "But why-"

He bent down and picked her up in a fireman's lift, cutting off her sentence and making her squeal with delight. Without waiting for a further word from her he began to march up the garden and towards his back door. She felt herself get even wetter at the thought of him being so in control. He was careful not to hit her head on the doorframe on the way in, and she expected him to put her down once they were inside, but much to her delight he carried straight on upstairs, carrying her as if she weighed no more than a feather.

The sight of Peeta carrying her across his shoulders caused the three sleeping cats on his bed to raise their heads. "Come on boys. Out." They seemed to understand the command, as all three stood up, stretched and trotted out of his room with no fuss. Peeta gently lowered Katniss to the ground and quickly shut his bedroom door before the cats could change their mind and come running back in.

Katniss put the bottle and glasses down on a small bedside chest of drawers just as Peeta returned to her and swept her up in his arms, their lips locked together in a desperate tango. They tore at each other's clothes, allowing them to pool on the floor at their feet. Katniss wasn't surprised that Peeta hesitated slightly before allowing her to undo his jeans and help him out of them. Knowing what to expect this time took the edge off the shock she had felt the night before, but it was still apparent that he felt uncomfortable with her seeing it. To take his mind away she reached between and wrapped her hand around the base of his thick cock and slowly ran her fingers up and down his length several times.

Without warning he picked her up and dropped her on the bed, her excitement increasing with each second. Her eyes ran over his body, pausing to take in the sight of his erect member, thick and straight, the head glistening slightly from the droplets of moisture forming there. She licked her lips in anticipation of what he wanted from her.

He joined her on the bed, lying between her legs and pinning her down. Katniss could feel the heat between his legs mingling with hers and she thrust her hips up in to him, desperate for any contact to relieve the pressure in her aching clit.

"I want to take you right now," Peeta said, trailing kisses behind her ear and down her neck. "But I don't think that would be fair." His kisses dipped lower, his hot mouth encompassing first one breast and then the other, all the while keeping her hands pinned down. He blew slightly on the tender wet skin, causing her nipples to become erect again. He relinquished his grip on her hands, and his kisses continued to trail lower and lower down her body. She held her breath as he paused over her centre, sitting up slightly on her elbows so she could better watch him. Desire was etched in every line of his face and he whispered, "So beautiful," before dipping his mouth to the apex between her thighs.

Her hips immediately lifted off the bed, but Peeta placed his palm over her stomach to push her back down. His tongue was insistent, sliding over her wet folds, circling over her clit, thrusting in to her, and her hands worked their way into his hair, holding him in place as her hips started to buck against him again. The soft stubble on his face grazed her delicate flesh as she writhed under his ministrations. Her obvious enjoyment caused Peeta to moan in pleasure with her, and the vibrations of his deep voice against her sent her spiralling over the edge. Her thighs clamped around his head as she pulled on his hair, making sure there was no way for him to move away. This caused Peeta to kiss and lap at her even more furiously, and she came hard with a cry, eventually having to push Peeta away as her flesh became too sensitive to cope with any more pleasure.

But he wasn't finished with her yet. "Lie on your stomach," he commanded and she did so without question. She felt his weight on her back, and his legs either side of hers, the coldness of the artificial leg on her left hand side still an alien feeling. Those thoughts were pushed from her mind as he slid his cock down her backside and between her legs, until she gasped as he found her still sensitive core and pushed slowly into her, squeezing her thighs closed with his own once he was enveloped inside her.

She felt stretched almost to her limit but at the same time couldn't get enough of that feeling of fullness and pushed back in to him as he began to slowly thrust in to her. His arms pinned hers down and the kisses he trailed along her neck and the back of her shoulders tingled with electricity. Still reeling and sensitive from her last orgasm, she soon felt pleasurable pressure build up inside her again as the head of his cock pushed against her G-spot with each thrust. She felt Peeta's hot breath net to her ear, and he whispered, "Come for me, Katniss," while at the same time he slid his hand underneath her, grazing her clit and giving her the extra sensation she needed to come undone. She flooded with warmth as her body convulsed with intense pleasure, screaming into a pillow, and she felt Peeta's hips jerk erratically several more times before he called her name out and collapsed in to her.

They stayed that way for several minutes, Peeta's weight holding her in place as they caught their breath. Katniss whined slightly as Peeta finally slid out of her and sat up. He reached in to a drawer in the bedside chest and tore a large amount from a toilet roll, which he used to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Do I want to know why you keep a loo roll in a drawer next to your bed?" Katniss smirked, rolling over on to her side.

Peeta threw her a pointed look. "Katniss, I've been single over two and a half years. But I'm still a bloke." He balled the sweaty wad of toilet roll up and threw it in to a bin with, Katniss was amused to note, well-practised aim. He picked up the remainder of the wine and poured them both a glass handing one to Katniss. Condensation instantly formed on the outside of the glass and Katniss had to use all her self control not to down the cool liquid in one go.

"Anyway," said Peeta, "Am I allowed to read that story yet?"

Katniss took a long slow sip from her glass "Was that your plan all along? Seduce me and make me suggestible."

"You're suggestible at the moment?" he said with a sparkle in his eyes. "How suggestible?"

"Don't push your luck," she smiled. "But sure, you can read it."

She grabbed Peeta's shirt that she had been wearing and put it on. It was large enough to just about cover her modesty. Ducking out of his bedroom she darted downstairs to pick up her notebook, and took a deep breath before she ascended the stairs, pausing to think on her situation again. If someone had told her in that moment to give up her life in London and stay here with Peeta she would do so without a second thought. The realisation scared her somewhat, and she wondered what Peeta would say if he could hear her thoughts.

When she returned to the bedroom she was vaguely disappointed that Peeta had pulled on a pair of cotton pyjama bottoms, but she kept her disappointment to herself as she climbed on the bed next to him, and flicked to the start of her story, handing the book to him.

As he read she alternately watched the concentration on his face and then became interested in the bottom of her wine glass for something to do. Eventually he looked up, closed the book and said, "Well that was something."

It wasn't quite the reaction she had either been expecting or wanting. "You didn't like it?" she said.

"Oh, no," he replied. "No, sorry if it seems that way. Just a little taken aback, I guess."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. I mean I love this character in it. The life model. She seems so full of life, so witty and intelligent, knows what she wants and how to get it… Definitely someone I'd like to meet."

"And the artist?"

"Ugh. Couldn't stand him."

"Really?" said Katniss, laughing at more evidence of Peeta's self-deprecating humour.

"Really. Overly romantic, soppy wanker."

"Wanker? That's a bit harsh."

"Not at all," he replied. "Read between the lines. Definite bollock juggler. Spent far too much time masturbating and crying in to his pillow. His only saving grace was meeting that model. I daresay if he hadn't met her he'd have ended up like a mad old cat lady, alone with about forty ferals running wild around his house."

"Oh, I don't think he's that bad," said Katniss, still laughing.

"I'm pretty sure he is. Still he met that model after all, so it's a pretty moot point."

"I wasn't sure if I should write in a scene where he draws her outside of his classes," Katniss said, hoping Peeta would pick up on her intention.

He swallowed thickly. "You still could," he replied.

"Maybe," she said. "I'd need to do some research though. I can't really picture how such a scene would play out."

"Katniss," Peeta said, his voice once again heavy with desire. "Will you stay another day? Please? I understand if you think it's weird for me to ask, but I have to. One more day?"

"Two conditions," she replied.

"Anything."

"Firstly, I have to wash my clothes."

"Not a problem."

"Secondly, I need you to help me with my research."

A grin spread across his face. "Deal"


	13. Chapter 12 - Peeta

The daylight crept in through a crack in the curtains, and the change in light was just enough to wake him up. He looked at the goddess sprawled next to him and smiled to himself. Her hair fanned out on the pillow, her lips were slightly parted and her face was serene. It took every single ounce of his self control to not wake her up by pressing his lips against hers.

He sat up on the edge of the bed, pausing for a moment to wipe the sleep from his eyes. The sight of his leg propped up against the wall, and the silicone liner left on top of a pile of clothes next to the bed panicked him momentarily until he remembered; as they had curled up to go to sleep, Katniss had persuaded him (with difficulty) to take it off. She had quite rightly guessed that he would sleep better and be more comfortable in the morning. She was absolutely right of course, but what had surprised him the most was that she hadn't seemed in any way bothered or disgusted by the sight of the stump, something that even to this day still upset him to look at sometimes.

As he reached for the connecting liner Katniss stirred slightly beside him. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and rested upon him. "Hey," she said, her voice croaky from sleep.

"Hey. You don't need to wake up yet if you don't want. I'm an early riser."

"What time is it?"

He picked up his watch, fastening it to his wrist as he did. "Quarter past six," he replied. "I'm going to take Belle for a walk, but feel free to stay here. I'll come and see you when I get back."

"I'm sleepy," she muttered.

"Then stay." He brushed a few loose strands of hair away from her face before leaning over and placing a kiss on her brow. She sighed contentedly and rolled over, drifting back to sleep. He watched her for a few moments longer before picking up the liner and rolling it on over the stump, and finally attaching the leg in to place.

After quickly dressing, and with one final glance at Katniss' sleeping form, descended the stairs and picked up Belle's lead. She instantly came running towards him, jumping up enthusiastically. He roughly scratched her behind the ears before grabbing an apple to eat on the way; he'd cook a proper breakfast for himself and Katniss on his return. With Belle's lead affixed he opened his front door and began to walk, not really sure of the path he was going to take.

The cool morning air was wonderfully refreshing after the blistering heat of the last few days, and gave Peeta a proper chance to reflect. He didn't think it would be an exaggeration to describe the previous night as the best of his life. Indeed, he hadn't been able to stop smiling since he awoke. He didn't know how to describe his feelings, as he hadn't felt truly happy in such a long time. It was almost frightening, but it felt something like it had with Jenn. Similar, but somehow different. But whereas he'd grown close to her over months, he'd known Katniss just days, and was already dreading the inevitable moment when she would have to head back to London.

He thought about the moment she had begun to sing. The apocalypse could have been taking place and it wouldn't have mattered as long as she kept singing. The whole evening had been perfect up to that point anyway but her voice had penetrated his soul, nestled in his heart and claimed him.

Before too long he and Belle had reached the park, so he let her off the leash so that she could properly stretch her legs. It felt as if she were sharing in his joy, bounding back and forth in the early sunlight. The sky was completely clear and it promised to be yet another beautiful summery day.

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On his return he went straight back upstairs to find that Katniss was still curled up and asleep. She was utterly beautiful, and Peeta wanted to freeze the image in his mind forever. She stirred gently as he approached, her eyes slowly opening and raising to meet his. He crouched in front of her and said, "Morning, sleepyhead."

A languid smile spread across her face. "Morning." She rolled away from him, and looked back over her shoulder. "Can I have a cuddle?"

He tried to oblige immediately, kicking off one of his shoes and silently cursing the double knot that had pulled impossibly tight on the other. Still watching over her shoulder, Katniss giggled slightly at his struggle. As soon as he was finally free of the offending piece of footwear he joined her on the bed, spooning her back, one arm under his head, the other thrown over her body and pulling her close. She took hold of his hand and brought it to her lips, placing gentle, sleepy kisses on each of his fingers.

"That feels nice," he said as he nuzzled in to the back of her head. Her hair smelled of his favourite shampoo - she must have used it when she'd showered yesterday – and he inhaled deeply, pulling her even closer.

A small rumble of pleasure issued from deep in her throat and she began to kiss his fingers again, drawing them in to her mouth one at a time, gently nibbling at them and sucking suggestively. At the same time she pushed her hips backwards, rubbing herself against his rapidly hardening cock. "Katniss…fuck…" he growled, unable to do anything but respond to her movements. "Here…" He slid the arm he had been lying on under the crook of her neck, so that she could continue to suck and nibble on those fingers, while he trailed his other hand down along her curves, pausing to run his fingers back and forth along the dip of her waist. Grabbing hold of her hips he roughly thrust forward, pressing his erection between her cheeks and causing her to whimper with bliss.

"Peeta," she breathed heavily. "Peeta, make love to me."

His heart skipped a beat at her words. He knew it was just a turn of phrase, but to hear her say those precise words… Was there a chance she was feeling the same way as him?

She sat up next to him, pulling the t-shirt she had borrowed to sleep in over her head, pushing the borrowed cotton pyjama bottoms down so that she was naked next to him. Encouraged by her actions he unbuttoned his shirt, his arousal strengthening as Katniss firmly pushed the fabric down his shoulders. She helped him out of his jeans and boxers then lay back down, facing away from him. "Come back to me," she whispered, and Peeta resumed his place behind her, their bodies pressed together. She took hold of his hand and picked up where she had left off before, kissing and sucking each finger, holding his hand up to her mouth and trailing wet, open kisses along his wrist, pressing her lips firmly on to his pulse point. "Now, Peeta," she said between kisses. "I want you now."

He had to pull his hand away from those perfect lips just momentarily. Taking himself in his hand, he wordlessly guided his erect cock towards the heat of her core. Without foreplay her body resisted slightly at first, but he didn't force it. He pulled back out and pushed forward again, gaining slightly deeper entry this time, repeating his gentle but insistent thrusts until he was fully surrounded by the wet heat of her tight walls. Katniss gasped her approval and pulled his arm back around to blanket her.

He took his time, withdrawing almost all the way before pushing back in to the resisting heat of her core. With each slow thrust he could feel her tightening her muscles around him, increasing the sensations for both of them.

Keeping at such a slow pace was a blissful kind of torture and his resolve to keep at such a steady speed was broken when Katniss began her sensual attack on his fingers once again. He pushed his body even closer to hers. Leaning up on his elbow, he placed kisses along her neck and perfect slender shoulders. He whined slightly deep in his throat as he pulled his hand away from her mouth, instantly missing the sensation of her lips against his skin, but he wanted to give her the extra feeling of ecstasy. He reached between her legs, sliding his fingers, wet with her saliva, down her already wet folds. She instantly arched her back at the touch, pushing him even further in to her. "Peeta… yes…" she gasped as she began to tremble. Peeta kept up the slow and steady assault on her clit, marvelling at the incoherent and guttural sounds she was making. She rocked her hips faster, encouraging him to do the same, and the noises she was making were becoming more and more desperate until she called his name, her muscles spasming uncontrollably. It was hearing her call his name so wantonly that sent Peeta over the edge. "Shit, Katniss," he hissed, as he felt his balls tighten. "I'm gonna…ahhh, fuck…I'm gonna come…" With one final hard thrust the pressure inside him released and he felt Katniss purposely clamp her walls around him once again, prolonging the pleasure, as beautiful contented warmth spread over his whole body.

He slowly pulled away from her and lay back, catching his breath. Katniss rolled over and stroked a few sweaty curls away from his forehead. "Good morning," she said again.

"I'll say it's a good morning," he repeated with a lopsided grin. "Every morning should start like that."

"Definitely," she agreed.

"So… What happened to 'taking it slowly,' and 'seeing what happens?' Not that I'm complaining, mind."

"Good, so don't."

He rolled into her and placed a series of kisses along her neck, "I'm not," he said between kisses. At that moment his mobile started to ring. "Ugh, fuck off," he directed towards the sound of the phone. He ignored it until it rung off, giving his full attention back to Katniss, but no sooner had the phone stopped it started again.

"I think someone wants you," said Katniss.

Peeta raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Do they, now?" She playfully pushed him away and he scrambled through his jeans pockets. Finding the phone at last, he noticed the name 'Finn' on screen. "What?" he answered, slightly breathless, before the phone could ring off again.

"Put the girl down for a second, and get on the BBC news website."

"Why?"

"You'll see," he responded before hanging up.

"What was that all about?" Katniss asked.

"Dunno, something he wants me to look up," he replied, typing the BBC web address in to the browser on his phone. His query was answered just a few seconds later with the headline " _Cows with TB have entered human food chain; Infected beef and milk served up in hospitals and schools._ " Peeta read through the article with baited breath; the risk of bovine TB passing to humans through the food chain was the government's biggest justification for the badger cull. And yet they were serving up infected meat to the most vulnerable people in the country. This was very good news for the anti-cull movement. The story linked through to a secondary story about how the e-petition against the cull started by Queen guitarist Brian May was now the most signed petition the government had ever received. A third story was linked at the bottom of the page; a scheduled programme due to broadcast on Radio 4 entitled ' _Rethinking Veganism_ ,' a piece on mainstream radio that would address negative stereotyping, and seek to bring veganism more into the mainstream. Reading through everything Peeta couldn't help the smile spreading across his face. He linked back to the first story and handed his phone to Katniss. "Check this out," he said. "Extra ammo for your story."

He watched Katniss read through the articles, her brow slightly knotted. Finally she handed the phone back. "Well," she said. "That's all very interesting." She paused momentarily then said, "Not sure there's much more I can add to that."

Peeta's excitement faded. "But… you _have_ to…"

She seemed to be choosing her words carefully. "I'll have to have a think, Peeta. I'm not really sure what angle I can approach this from at the moment."

He glanced back at the headline shining out from the screen on his phone, then looked back up at Katniss. If she wasn't going to do the story, what reason did she have to stay? He felt panicked at the thought. "But you'll still stay here today, though? You won't just drop it and leave? You did promise me another day…"

A slight smile turned up the corners of her mouth. "I did promise, yes." Her lips met his briefly. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

He pulled her in to a hug, his arms wrapped tightly around her and sighed with contentment. Their reverie was interrupted by the loud growl issuing from his stomach. "Hungry?" she chuckled.

"Mmmhmm. It's your fault. You made me work up an apetite."

"My fault?"

"Yup. You seduced me, knowing I'd be powerless to resist, and now I'm too comfortable to move. If I starve it'll be entirely your fault."

A scratching at the door, followed by a pitiful mewling sound caught their attention. Peeta made a small noise of protest and held Katniss even tighter, but the scratching got louder. "Sounds like someone else is going to starve if you don't get up," she giggled in to his shoulder. A pause, followed by the most frantic scratch and loudest meow yet.

"Alright, alright," he said, finally relinquishing his grip on Katniss and pulling on his boxers and jeans again. "I'm coming." He opened the bedroom door, and Zippy the cat all but fell inside, winding himself around Peeta's legs, looking up and desperately chatting away. "What do you want, boy?" Zippy answered with a loud meow. "Little Johnnie's trapped down a well, you say?" Another meow. "He's been down there how long?" Yet another meow. "Oh. Din-dins. I see. I must have misheard. Come on then." He winked at Katniss, his heart racing to see her smiling at his silly antics. "How about you? Are you joining us for a spot of din-dins?"

"I'll leave off the cat food for now, thanks."

"Are you sure? I can put you a bowl out separately."

"Quite sure. Coffee would be good, though."

It wasn't long before Katniss joined him in the kitchen, wearing more borrowed clothes. "So, what's on the agenda today?" she asked him.

"Pretty much the same as every day," he replied. "So if you can help me at all, I'd really appreciate it. If I can get everything done sooner rather than later, then I can help you with that...research."

"Sounds promising," she said, sweeping her arms around his waist. "Anyway, are my clothes dry yet?" she asked. She had insisted that her own clothes were washed and hung out before they went to bed.

"Don't know, don't care. If all goes to plan today you'll be out of them again soon anyway." He had no idea where his boldness was coming from. She would make a perfect subject, if he was able to keep his hands to himself long enough to actually sketch her later.

"So," Katniss voice brought him back to reality for a moment. "What culinary delights are you making me for breakfast, then?"

"Whatever you want."

"Please don't go to all the effort again, just something simple."

"What if I want to make an effort though? You'd be denying me happiness."

"Why waste time on it when that time could be better spent?"

"I'd hardly call it a waste. But you make a fair point."

Having been finally persuaded that simple beans on toast was more than enough for her, Peeta made a start on the day's usual chores. He found Katniss to be an unusually fast learner, and all he had to do was point her in the right direction and she got on with the job in hand with no fuss at all.

Just before midday he set up the run, and decided to let the new hens out first. "Katniss?" he called to her, as she was laying out fresh hay for Kage and Jables. "I need your help."

"What is it?" she asked as she trotted over.

"Nothing bad, we just still need to name the hens."

Together they went in to the small animals enclosure. The two lots of four hens already looked healthier than they had after the rescue, although it would still be touch and go for them for a while. "We'll do them four at a time today," he said to Katniss. "But first I need to treat their lacerations. Can you hold them still while I do this?" He bent down and picked up one of the more adventurous ones who had wandered over towards them, gently placing her in Katniss' arms. Katniss looked terrified at holding the bird, but as Peeta applied the topical cream to the bird's cuts he murmured, "You're doing really well," and offered her an encouraging smile. The hen cocked her head to one side and looked up at Katniss with an unblinking eye.

"I think this might be the one I picked out the other day," said Katniss rather hesitantly.

"Yeah? Well, she'll have to be Katherine, won't she? Suits her. She's the bravest, after all."

Katniss snorted. "I'm not brave."

"Sure you are," he said. "You drove a stranger halfway across the country then came on a midnight rescue mission with a bunch of other strangers to break in to a potentially high security farm. And the way you darted up that tree yesterday… I wouldn't have done that even before… you know…"

She snorted again. "That doesn't sound brave to me. That just makes me sound reckless."

"Fine," he laughed. "Reckless then. And rushing towards a pair of scary humans is a pretty reckless thing for a chicken to do, so she'll still be Katherine. Ok?"

"Sure," she said. "But as you said I'd get to pick Katherine, and you've just taken that from me, I definitely get to pick Peto, ok?"

Peeta felt a huge rush of affection for her. If he hadn't had so many responsibilities he would have swept her up off her feet and taken her back to his room. He allowed a bashful smile to cross his lips. "Ok," he said quietly.

With the two of them working together it didn't take long to treat all of the hens, and to then take each of them outside to the runs to allow them a little sunshine and fresh air. Peeta still felt emotional as he watched them run around, experiencing freedom at last. He sat down in the grass next to the run and allowed himself a few moments of peace. It didn't take long for Katniss to come and join him. Without thinking he took her hand in his own as she sat down, squeezing it gently. His heart fluttered as she squeezed it back. Together they sat in silence for several minutes, soaking up the sun and the peace.

"Which one is Katherine?" she asked, resting her head on his shoulder. It took a moment to find her, but Peeta soon pointed her out. She was sitting in a small patch of earth close by another hen who was snuggled up next to her. "Are you sure that's her?" she asked.

"Absolutely," replied Peeta.

"Then the one next to her, that's Peto."

"Sure?"

"Definitely. I've been watching those two. They follow each other everywhere. They're definitely our Kat and Pete."

' _Our Kat and Pete_ ,' she had said. ' _Ours_.' The simple word meant so much to him. He turned to her and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek, squeezing her hand even tighter.

They decided to give the hens an hour in the run, during which time they were able to name each of them. Katniss expressed her disbelief that Peeta could tell them apart, but to him it was obvious. He would usually find it irritating but with her it was endearing; she was obviously trying really hard, and with a little patience it was clear to him that she'd be such an asset to the sanctuary. She already was a huge asset to him personally.

He tried to imagine returning to life without waking up with her next to him and found that he simply couldn't picture a future that didn't have her in it. His heart ached at the thought of her returning to London, and he was determined to make every single second count.

He couldn't help but flash glances at her profile every now and then. She was so deep in thought, so beautifully pensive and lost in her own world that she jumped slightly at the loud beep of her phone. She looked down at the screen. "It's my sister," she said. "Shit, I can't believe I've been up this way and haven't tried to see her yet." She bit her bottom lip slightly, the guilt clearly gnawing at her.

"Does she know you're here?"

"No, she's just saying hello."

"Perhaps you could see if she's got any free time before you go?" Peeta suggested, knowing that if Prim's only free time was today it would mean losing Katniss even sooner. He watched as she typed a quick response in to her phone, and waited with baited breath for a response.

After a few moments her phone beeped again. "She has tomorrow night off," she said.

"Invite her over then," said Peeta, jumping on the opportunity.

"What?"

"Yeah, we'll have a barbecue. Might as well make the most of this sun while we have it, you know it never lasts. And I'd like to see her again. Y'know. To thank her for…everything."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," he said firmly.

She smiled as she typed, then said, "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to keep me here."

He held his hands up in front of him in a placatory gesture. "I'm just trying to be a good citizen. Family reunions count as a good deed for the day."

"Well, if she says yes I'm going to have to go and buy some new clothes then. I can't keep wearing your things."

"Come on," he said. "Let's finish up as soon as we can, I'll drive you in to town and the sooner we get back the sooner I can help you get out of whatever you buy."

"I thought you said last week that you couldn't drive."

He felt his face go red. "I _can_. I just can't drive the van anymore. I can only drive automatics now. Had to re-sit my test to show I wasn't a liability. I guess the whole upshot is thanks to my little blue sticker in the window I can park wherever I want now."

He marvelled at the words coming out of his mouth. That must have been the first time ever that he had cracked a joke, however unfunny, about his disability. He shook his head at the revelation and encouraged them both to get back to work just as Katniss received another text. "It's a yes!" she said, and Peeta melted at her excitement. "She's asked to bring someone, is that ok?"

"Of course," he responded with a wink. "But only if we get everything done today." With the two of them working together he became even more aware of how difficult life had been since Jenn had left. Making ends meet had become a real struggle with just one income, and the demands looking after everyone on his own put on his time had meant that he had no free time to be able to wind down.

By mid-afternoon the day's chores were at an end and Peeta was able to take Katniss in to town. He was immensely grateful that she wasn't a 'girly' girl who insisted on trying on everything in sight, instead grabbing a pair of shorts, a few vest tops and a pack of underwear before insisting they get out as swiftly as possible.

On their return to Peeta's cottage, they collapsed together on his couch, neither wanting to move at all. Katniss leant into him, and he lazily threw his arm over her, idly running his fingers up and down the curve of her waist. It felt so right, so perfect being with her. He closed his eyes and softly said, "I could stay like this forever."

She was silent a moment. "Ok," she said at last.

"You'll let me?"

Another pause. "I will."

He held her a little tighter, still dreading the inevitable moment when she would have to leave but trying to push it further and further from his mind. For now the fantasy world was far too alluring…

His stomach growled causing Katniss to laugh in to his chest. "I guess that's forever over then," she giggled.

"Are you taking the mick?"

"No, I just think you need to clarify. You could stay like this forever between meals."

"Mmm... sounds like heaven."

"Do you want a takeaway? My treat? Save our evening for….other things?"

"Wow. Beautiful, kind, funny, talented, laughs at my jokes, incredible in bed and offering to buy me dinner. God, I think I love you."

The words fell from him before he could stop to think about what he was saying. He felt Katniss tense slightly next to him and held his breath while he figured out what to do next. Opting for the coward's way out, pretending nothing had been said at all, he disentangled himself from her and stood up. "I know I've got some takeaway menus here somewhere." He began rooting through draws and cupboards that he knew didn't contain what he was looking for, purely for something to do, so that he wouldn't have to look at her. What on earth had he meant by saying those words? What a truly perfect way to frighten someone away… He could feel his cheeks burning and turned his back on her to try and hide his discomfort. "What do you want? Chinese or Indian?"

"I don't mind," she said, and Peeta practically jumped out of his skin. She was right behind him and he hadn't heard her move at all. "Are you ok?"

"Uh-huh. Just… can't find these bloody menus."

"Peeta?"

"Hmmm?"

"Peeta, look at me."

He turned around to face her but still couldn't bring himself to make eye contact.

"Peeta, these last couple of days have been…intense. I don't pretend to know what you're feeling but I know that I like you. I _really_ like you."

He swallowed heavily. "I _really_ like you too."

"Then let's just leave it at that, ok?" She reached out and cupped his face, drawing him closer to her for a soft kiss.

"Ok," he agreed.

"Ok. Now, where do you _actually_ keep takeaway menus?"

"In a drawer in the kitchen," he admitted.

She smiled and took his hand, leading him away. His heart was racing but he didn't care. Somehow he had gotten away with his terrible slip of the tongue. He hadn't meant to say it, not by a long shot. He couldn't be in love with her. Not so soon. Love at first sight simply didn't happen, and if it did, it certainly didn't happen to him. But thankfully, not matter what he had said he hadn't frightened her away, and she was still showing interest in him and that was all that mattered.

Handing her the menus he asked her, "So, Chinese or Indian?"

"Chinese, I think," she replied, opening the paper menu and perusing the choices.

"Veggie stuff's on the back," said Peeta.

Katniss turned the menu over and a look of disappointment washed over her. "There's not much, is there?"

"Yeah. You must be used to a lot more choice in London, sorry. But it's all good though."

She sighed and said, "I'll have the satay with egg fried rice then."

Peeta stiffened and said quietly, "I'd prefer if you didn't."

"You don't have to eat it," she reminded him.

"Katniss, what we saw on Monday night, it happens because everyone pays for it. I'm not asking you to change, I want you to want to, but I am asking you not to bring that in to my home. I hope that's not unreasonable."

"Of course not," she said quietly, unable to look at him.

"Thank you." He placed a kiss on her forehead, his heart pounding, hoping she understood his position and wasn't insulted.

Within a few minutes he'd telephoned the restaurant and ordered a feast for both of them. "It'll be about an hour," he said, as he hung up the phone.

"So… What do you want to do for the next hour?" she asked, stepping closer to him.

Images raced through his mind and he found it hard to hide the lust he felt towards her. "Follow me," he said. He led her back in to the living room, and pushed the coffee table to one side, clearing a space in the middle of the floor. "You still want me to draw you, right?" She nodded demurely. "Ok. Get yourself ready, and I'll get my things."

He raced upstairs as fast as he possibly could to find a decent sketch book and some charcoals and pencils, well aware that Katniss would probably be naked and waiting for him by now. He wiped his sweating palms on the front of his t-shirt, picked up the materials he needed and didn't bother to hide his erection as he came back down.

She was sat waiting on his sofa, one leg crossed over the other and hugging herself. "Where do you want me?" she asked.

His mouth was suddenly dry and it took him a while to answer as he stared at her perfect naked form. Shaking himself back to the present he said, "Just here, please. On the floor." She arched an eyebrow at him but did as he asked. He sat back and stared at her with real intensity, leaning forward again to reposition her. "Can you tuck your legs under? Lean back slightly. That's it… and relax your arm." With each tiny adjustment of her position he sat back to admire her form, leaning in again to alter some tiny detail until he was perfectly happy. "May I?" he asked, indicating her braid. As soon as she nodded he gently pulled out the band holding it in place and ran his fingers through her locks, positioning it to cascade down over her shoulders. "Ok, now can you turn your head to look over shoulder? A little less? Perfect." He repositioned her hair again. "Just perfect. Ummm, I'm going to have to take a photo. I promise no one else will see it, it's just for continuity, in case we don't get everything finished in one go. Is that ok?"

"You absolutely promise no one else is going to see it?"

"Cross my heart."

"Then ok."

He quickly snapped a shot of her, pausing to check that it came out properly, then sat cross legged with his sketch book in his lap. Taking a deep breath he began to mark out her basic form in pencil, tracing back over the soft lines and curves in charcoal. "Don't look at me," he said as he began to mark out the positioning of her face. "Keep your head in the same position, but pick a point on the wall, keep looking at that. Little more to the left. That's it. Hold it there."

She was an absolutely ideal subject, no question about it. She only had to be told once to do something, and she was able to keep perfectly still without complaint. Not to mention her natural beauty. Time drifted away as he worked; they could have been there minutes, hours or days and he would have no idea how long he had been working. Just as he was focused on her perfect breasts, using his fingers to blend the charcoal to show their rounded form, they were interrupted by a knocking at the front door.

"Food," said Katniss. "Get my purse out of my bag."

"You sure you don't mind paying?"

"I don't mind, but you'll have to go to the front door. I don't think I'm in any fit state to be seen," she said, laughing as she did.

With one last glance at the unfinished drawing he said, "I think they'll get a bit of a shock from me too." He indicated his lap, where his erection could not have been more pronounced.

"I still win," she said, as the knocking at the front door became more insistent. "Purse." He reached for her satchel, and was just about to open it when Katniss said urgently, "Shit, wait! Pass it here."

He was a little taken aback by her abruptness but did as she asked. "You hiding some terrible secret in there from me, or something?" he asked with a smile.

"All kinds of things," she said conspiratorially as she pulled out her purse and handed it to him, then she couldn't help but snort as he stood up. "You're going to look great, paying out of a woman's purse with that whopping great boner on display."

He looked down at himself and smirked. "He'll probably think I'm trying to flirt with him. Let's hope he doesn't invite himself in for dinner, hey?"

She grinned at him as he left her to throw some clothes back on, paying as quickly and discreetly as possible for the bag of food, then taking it back through to the kitchen. Katniss had pulled on her new shorts and a vest top and was carrying his open sketch book in her hands. "Peeta, this is outstanding," she said, indicating the unfinished drawing of herself.

"Thanks," he said. "But it's nowhere near finished yet."

"Really? It looks perfect to me."

"Thank you. I had a pretty perfect subject. But it still needs work."

"If I didn't know better I'd think you just wanted to get me naked again."

"There's truth to that," he said, as he started to dish the food out. "But it really does need more work. Here," he said, placing a tracing sheet over the drawing and shutting the pad closed. "Can you put it somewhere safe? I don't want it to get splashed or anything."

He poured them both a glass of wine to have with dinner, handing one to her as soon as she came back in to the kitchen. "Thanks," she said, taking it from him. "You're covered in charcoal," she added, reaching up and wiping a smudge away from his cheek. "You look like you've been down a mine."

"Occupational hazard. Come on, I'm starving, let's eat."

\---------------------------------------------------

Once their plates had been cleared and all the animals had also been fed again, Peeta insisted on finishing the drawing before allowing himself to relax. Using the photo he had taken as a reference point he repositioned Katniss exactly as he had before, then picked up a soft white pencil to start picking out highlights. If he was being entirely honest he didn't actually need Katniss to pose while he finished it, but he had already decided that that piece of information was on a strictly need-to-know basis only.

After a while she began to get a little restless. "Will you be much longer?" she asked, starting to fidget.

"It'll take twice as long if you don't stay still."

"I want another glass of wine."

"Really? Well, my dad always used to tell me that 'I want never gets.'"

"Not true."

"It is true. He used to say it all the time."

"Har-dee-har, smartarse. But 'I want' does get sometimes."

"Not round here it doesn't."

"I said 'I want you' earlier. And it worked."

He raised his eyebrows, smiling to himself as he blended the white around her cheeks, highlighting her perfect facial structure. "Perhaps the rules have changed. Try it again. It might work. It might not. Only one way to find out."

"Nice try. I don't get seduced that easily."

"Maybe I don't either. You're assuming it would have worked."

She huffed impatiently and looked a little affronted. Peeta had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing; he was pretty much finished but was enjoying teasing her far too much to let her know that. Blending one final detail that added an almost ethereal shimmer to her hair, he signed his name at the bottom then sat back and smiled.

"Ok, it's done. You can move. Would you like that glass of wine now?"

She grabbed her vest top and her shorts, pulling them on, and quickly crossed over to where Peeta was sat cross legged on the floor. She crouched down beside him and her mouth fell open. "Is this how you see me?" she asked.

"That's how you are," he replied simply.

"Peeta," she breathed. "I don't know what to say. This is… I'm speechless."

"You like it?"

"I love it. I don't know how you've done it, but you've made me beautiful. Thank you."

"I didn't make you anything. That's how you are," he repeated. "I can only draw what I see."

Tears were streaming down her face. Peeta looked up at her and was shocked to see her so upset. "Hey," he said, brushing the tears from her cheeks. "What's caused this? Please don't cry."

"You're a really wonderful guy, Peeta, and I hope you know that."

A lead weight settled in the pit of his stomach. These sounded like the sort of words that preceded a speech about how she didn't want to see him again. He kept his eyes resolutely on the Katniss drawn in charcoal, knowing that if he looked up his emotions would betray him. His jaw clenched and he waited for the inevitable.

"I don't think I could ever deserve you."

His head snapped up to meet her gaze. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean it, Peeta, I don't understand why you're doing this. I'm not a good person. I don't deserve you."

"Enough," he said firmly. "I don't want to hear any more of this nonsense. I can see who you are, and you are a good person." He cupped her cheek and turned her to face him. "I can only draw what I see, remember? You're beautiful. Anyone can see that, and I'm not just talking about this," he said, stroking the side of her face. Laying his hand above her heart, he added, "I'm talking about this, too."

His speech didn't have the intended effect, and she began to cry even harder. He pulled her in to his arms, and whispered soothing words to her. "It's ok," he cooed. "It's ok."

She slowly raised her head, and through the veil of tears their eyes met. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "I'm sorry that I can't stop this." And she placed her lips upon his with sheer desperation. He responded immediately, his hands weaving in to her hair and holding her in place. Her tears trailed down on to her lips, and Peeta could taste the saltiness of them in her kiss. "Don't be sorry," he whispered between kisses. "Don't ever be sorry."

Together they sat curled in to each other until Katniss' sobs began to subside. "May I have that glass of wine now?" she asked.

"Of course," he responded. "Get yourself comfortable." When he returned with their two glasses and the remainder of the bottle, she was sat on the couch, hugging her knees in much the same position she had been the first time they had been intimate. He sat down beside her and poured her a glass. "Are you ok?" She nodded, sniffing as she did. "What would you like to do? Anything at all, your choice."

"I just want to… switch off, I guess. I don't want to think. I want this-" she indicated her head, "-to stop."

Peeta smiled at her, stroking her hair back. "I know that feeling all too well. Do you want to watch cartoons with me? Trust me, it helps."

She seemed halfway torn between more tears and giggling. "Ok," she said eventually. "Educate me in the art of cartoon watching."

"They are an art form, believe me. What do you want? Something for kids that also appeals to adults, or something for adults?"

"Cartoons aren't aimed at adults, Peeta."

"Yes they are. Sit back and prepare to be educated."

He had almost all of season 1 of _Archer_ recorded on the Tivo, and he set it up to play them back to back. Kicking his feet up on the couch, he lifted his arm up and encouraged Katniss to snuggle in to him. She placed her head against his chest, and he draped an arm over her, revelling in her sigh of contentment as he did so.

It didn't take long for Katniss to start giggling at the on screen antics of Agent Sterling Malory Archer, and Peeta felt a huge rush of affection for her.

Snuggling up with someone, watching TV with them, was such an everyday occurrence for most people, but it had been so long for him that he had forgotten just how _nice_ it could be. Every now and then he would stroke her hair, and she would snuggle down even further, until eventually her breathing started to slow down and deepen, and she fell fast asleep.

Peeta watched the slumbering figure curled up against him for a while. Her tears earlier had moved him incredibly. He had absolutely no idea why she would possibly think of herself as a bad person; she had already shown herself to be kind, generous, witty and funny. It had hurt him to see her so moved and upset, and he was immensely grateful that he was able to bring her back. Leaning down he placed a gentle kiss on top of her head, before sliding himself out from underneath her. He lifted her up in his arms and carried her upstairs, barely disturbing her sleep as he helped her in to his bed. After changing in to his usual cotton pyjama bottoms and removing his prosthetic, he climbed in to bed next to her. In her restful state she turned towards him, and he held on to her as together they drifted off to sleep.


	14. Chapter 13 - Katniss

On waking up the first thing Katniss became aware of was the sweet smell drifting upstairs; the delicate scent of vanilla coupled with the enticing aroma of cooked flour and sugar. The space in bed next to her told her everything she needed to know; Peeta was already up and from the delicious smells reaching her, he was baking.

There was still an indentation in his pillow from where his head had rested all night, and Katniss lightly skimmed along the contours with her fingers. She had come so close to finally being entirely truthful with him last night, but in the end the closest to honesty she had gotten was to tell him how little she deserved him. He hadn't believed her, and why would he? He had absolutely no reason to think otherwise.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Yesterday Peeta had implied love, and in her rationality she had tried to dismiss it as being a result of the intense couple of days they had spent together. And yet as she thought on him she recalled the words of The Beatles from the other night. _Would you believe in a love at first sight? Yes I'm certain that it happens all the time._ That lyric had been spinning round and round her head incessantly since she had heard it. She hadn't lied when she had told him that she really liked him, and that was the very reason she hadn't told him the truth in the end. She liked him so much that the idea of causing him pain broke her heart. Maybe there was no need for him to ever find the truth out…. Anyway, at some point tomorrow she would head back to London. Perhaps being apart from each other would help her to work out what these feelings meant…

The smell of baking wafting upstairs became far too alluring for her to ignore for much longer. She padded downstairs in barefoot, and as she did the sound of rock music, muffled through the closed kitchen door, reached her ears. She paused just before she entered the room; Peeta was singing along to the track and he was _terrible._ So out of tune it was almost painful. She put her hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles and stayed on the other side of the closed door for a minute or two longer. Despite his clear lack of any discernible musical talent she wanted to hang back and listen to him a little longer. She melted as he attempted a particularly long note and his voice wobbled back and forth, hitting pretty much every note except the correct one. She quietly turned the handle and opened the door, managing to do so without him noticing her presence.

He had his back to her and was measuring flour in to a large bowl, adding pinches of herbs and spices here and there. "It's a little early for Nirvana, isn't it?" she called out loud, giggling as he managed to spill whatever spice he was measuring all over the countertop.

"Jesus, don't you ever make a sound? You scared the life out of me."

"I'm sorry, it was just too tempting."

"And in answer to your question, it's never too early for Nirvana."

She sat down at the kitchen table, watching as he brushed his flour covered hands down the front of his t-shirt, filled up the kettle and flicked it on. "You know, you don't strike me as the grungy type."

"Oh?" he asked as he filled a measuring jug with water.

"Nope. You look way more innocent."

A lopsided smile spread across his face as he measured a couple of spoons of soy sauce into the water. "Really?"

"Really."

"I was once told I bear a passing resemblance to Layne Staley. How's that for 'the grungy type?'"

"Who?"

"Alice in Chains?" Katniss continued to look blank. "So you've never seen _Back to the Future_ , and you don't know Alice in Chains? Remind me why I'm chasing after you again?"

"Hot sex."

"Oh yeah," he said stepping closer to her and bending down to plant a kiss on her lips. Today he tasted of vanilla and chocolate and sure enough, when Katniss looked on the work surface there were twelve perfect cupcakes cooling on a wire rack, white vanilla cake marbled with rich dark brown chocolate.

"Anyway," said Peeta, stepping away from her. "I definitely don't see the resemblance myself. Apart from maybe the hair." He snorted to himself as the kettle clicked off and he spooned instant coffee in to a mug. "I tried to grow it once with disastrous results."

"Do tell," said Katniss, unable to stop smiling, as Peeta set a mug of coffee down in front of her.

"There's really not much to tell. I wanted to be like Eddie Vedder, so I grew it long. I looked like a really butch Dolly Parton."

"Please tell me you have photos."

"Not ones that will ever see the light of day again."

He turned back to whatever he was making and Katniss sat back with her coffee. She really would miss being here, and especially being with him. She watched him spooning peanut butter in to the jug and whisk it all together, then pour the mixture in to the flour. He stuck his hand straight in to bowl and started mixing it all together. "Are you ok this morning?" he asked.

"I'm ok," she confirmed. "Thank you for looking after me last night."

"Don't mention it. Just don't ever put yourself down again, ok? You're too beautiful to be sad."

She squirmed uncomfortably in her seat for a moment, her discomfort quickly turning to disgust as he turned out whatever he was making on to the counter top and began to knead it. The dark brown gelatinous slop looked like some kind of pulsating alien brain as Peeta manipulated it under his knuckles. "What the hell is that?" she asked, her nose wrinkled.

"You've never had seitan?" he asked. She shook her head. "You're in for a treat. I know it looks nasty now, trust me, when it's done it'll be delicious."

"I trust you , Peeta, but that doesn't look 'nasty.' It looks… umm…"

"Like a big pile of shite? I know, but it's not cooked yet. Once it's shaped, marinated and barbecued it'd impress even the most die-hard carnist."

Katniss thought that she would prefer to reserve judgement on that statement until…whatever that stuff was….was cooked. As it stood now he wouldn't be able to pay her to eat it.

"How many people are coming tonight?"

"Not many. I've only invited a couple of people." He smiled to himself. "I only really know a couple of people."

"I don't believe that for a second. You must be Mr Popular."

A slight pink flush crept across his cheeks. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. But not really. There's only so many times you can get invited places and have to say you can't make it or can't afford it before the invites start drying up. Anyway, I wanted to get the food started so I'm not rushing later. I've already taken Belle out and sorted the cats, and been missioning it in here since, but will you be able to help me again today?"

She smiled and nodded. "Of course." One last day of pretending she was an everyday part of his life. What could be the harm in that?  
________________________________________  
Katniss already felt comfortable enough to be able to get on with certain of the day's tasks without having to ask Peeta for help. At first she had been wary of cleaning out the pigs, but despite her initial reservation she was falling for them in a big way. Peeta had shown her how to feed them a treat of apple wedges by hand. They would approach with excited snufflings and as she lay her palm out flat, the apple wedges on top, their hairy snouts would tickle across her wrists as they gently took the fruit from her. Sometimes they would roll over with a heaving grunt, look at her expectantly, and make impatient little snorts until she came over and scratched their bellies, whining slightly if she stopped too soon.

Peeta's time was mostly taken up with the new hens, who he was trying to slowly integrate with the old ones. She watched him out of the corner of her eye as she laid down fresh hay for the pigs, taking note of the look of concern on his face. She gave the pigs one last scratch behind the ears before making her way towards him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He sighed heavily, pushing his hair off his face before bending down to retrieve the nearly bald hen. "The big girls aren't happy with the new ones. I need to keep them closer together so they can get used to each other, but that's going to mean building a new coop next to this one with wire fence between, so they can see each other but not go near each other. I just don't have time to do it. Maybe I could have paid someone to do it if that money hadn't been nicked. I should have banked it sooner, but again, I just don't have time." He smiled bitterly. "That's why I got her here in the first place." He shook his head looking at the ground. "Honestly, if dad were still here he'd kill me."

She watched him with melancholy sadness as he replaced the newly rescued hen (which one it was she couldn't tell) back in the indoor enclosure. When she left it would mean even more strain on him, and while she would have loved to be able to give it all up and stay with him, offer him all her help and support, it simply wasn't possible or practical.  
Peeta still seemed down and worried by the time they had finished feeding and cleaning all the animals. He set straight to work preparing more food for his guests, creating dish after dish of beautifully prepared salads, marinating the seitan, which now that it was baked looked far more edible than it had earlier, and whipping up strawberry buttercream icing for the cupcakes. He was so worried about time and money and yet had enough time and spare cash for all this? In Katniss' rational mind it simply didn't add up.

"Peeta," she began slowly, "Don't take this the wrong way. But how can you possibly afford all this?"

"I haven't bought anything, Katniss, this is food I had anyway," he snapped. "I don't often get to entertain people, and I certainly don't often get to meet new people so forgive me for actually wanting to make an effort when it finally happens. If it means I have to eat nothing but lentils and rice for the next month, so be it."

She was taken aback by his abruptness. "I was saying it out of concern for you, Peeta. Out of concern for your animals."

Seeing how crestfallen she looked he apologised immediately. "God, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to take it out on you. Little wonder I never have anyone over if I'm such an arsehole to them. I'll make it up to you I promise. I guess I'm just really worried and…" he shrugged, apparently unsure how to finish the sentence. "I'm sorry. Forgive me."

"You're forgiven," she replied.

He smiled a little sadly at her. "It'll work out, I'm sure. Things have a way of working themselves out in the end. In the meantime would you help me ice these cakes?" He set the marbled cupcakes he had made in the morning in front of her.

Katniss looked at them blankly. "Do you want them ruined?"

"You won't ruin them, I promise, it's easy. We'll do something simple."

She watched, fascinated, as he snipped the end from a plastic piping bag, and pushed a large nozzle down to the end. A couple of seconds later he had filled the bag with creamy, deep pink icing, twisting the top closed. "So, with this nozzle you can do a standard swirl-" He demonstrated on a cupcake, creating a work of art in moments. "-Or if you start from the middle and pipe outwards you can make a rose-" Again, he demonstrated the technique. "-Or a large star in the middle, or small iced gems." He showed her the techniques for these styles as well.

Katniss watched open mouthed. She was none the wiser as to how he had done any of it but he had perfectly iced four cupcakes in under a minute. "I don't know, Peeta. I won't be able to match any of these. Really, you should do them."

"Nope. I need your help." He picked one of them up and scraped the icing back into the bowl as Katniss protested.

"What are you doing?" she cried as he did the same to another.

"I told you, I need your help."

"Stop, please!" she cried out as he scraped a third back in to the bowl.

"Are you going to help?" he asked, poised with the final one.

"Ok, ok! Just leave at least one looking good, please!"

He smiled as he put the cake back down. "Ok, let's get started then. What do you think, by the way?" He held out his hand towards her, his fingers coated in the sticky, sweet buttercream. She took one finger in to her mouth, sucking the icing off. It was not too sweet, the tartness of the strawberries easily coming through with an undertone of vanilla.

Her eyes drifted closed. "Peeta, that's just…wow. How the hell do you make that without butter?"

"Easy. I'm a wizard," he said, without a hint of irony. She opened her eyes, and Peeta was looking at her with undisguised lust. After a while he tore his eyes from hers. "Let's get started."

He refilled the bag, twisted it off and handed it to Katniss. "Ok, hold it with your right hand near the top, that's it, and your left hand is just going to guide it."

"Ok, now what?"

"Now ice them."

She took a deep breath, said, "Ok then," and squeezed the bag. It was much more difficult than Peeta had made it look. The icing didn't come out smoothly or easily, and the swirl on her cupcake was thick and blobby at one end, thin and almost non-existent at the other.

"Nice one," said Peeta, encouraging her.

She smiled and shook her head. "Peeta, this is a mess."

"So do another one and make it less of a mess."

"Ok, but it won't be any better, I guarantee it." She was absolutely right. The second swirl wasn't much better than the first, still incredibly uneven and nowhere near as pretty as anything Peeta could do with his eyes closed. She huffed impatiently, annoyed that she couldn't do it right immediately. "Help me," she said, her annoyance apparent.

"Here." He stepped behind her, enveloping her smaller hands with his, manoeuvring her over the next cake. "Nice and easy, just keep it relaxed," he said, as the next two cakes were decorated with perfect swirls. Katniss closed her eyes and relaxed her back into him. It didn't take long for her to notice his growing arousal pressing in to her back. The knowledge instantly made her flood with heat. She threw her head back, turning in to him and placed a kiss on his jawline. "We need to get these done, Katniss," he said, although he didn't sound convincing. She continued to kiss down his jawline, and squealed with surprise as he turned the piping bag away from the cakes, directing the nozzle towards her. "Are you gonna stay focused?" he asked, moving the bag inexorably upwards towards her face.

"Yes!" she squealed, fighting against him, completely unable to match his strength.

"Why don't I believe you?" he asked, moving the bag even closer, the nozzle hovering over the end of her nose.

"You wouldn't dare," she said, instantly regretting it as Peeta squeezed the bag, leaving a star of strawberry scented icing on the tip of her nose. "You're going to regret that, buster." She dipped her hand straight in to the bowl, grabbing a handful of icing and spinning around in his arms. She held it poised, ready to defend herself against another attack.

"What are you going to do with that, Miss Everdeen?" he asked, holding the piping bag in front of him like a gun.

"Depends. What are you going to do with that, Mr Mellark?"

He was biting his lip and shaking with supressed laughter. He quickly slammed his fist down hard on the piping bag, sending an explosion of icing all over Katniss' chest and face. She retaliated immediately, slapping the handful of icing down on top of his head, smearing it down the side of his face.

He grabbed at one of the iced cupcakes, holding it like a live grenade he was about to throw. "You wouldn't!" cried Katniss, holding her hands up in a truce.

"Do you remember what happened before when you said that?"

"Peeta, you can't!"

"I can and I will." She tried ineffectually to stop him, howling with laughter as he squashed the cake on top of her head. She fought back valiantly, destroying a second cake by throwing it at him, and laughing as it caught him on the chin. He took a step towards her, pinning the backs of her legs against the kitchen table. Without a further thought she immediately threw her arms around his neck and their lips collided. She could taste the mixture of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry on his lips, lapping at the mess of icing and cake covering the side of his face. He pulled her vest above her head, his pupils dilating as he eyed the trail of icing falling between her breasts and down over her abdomen.

"Fuck me, you're gorgeous," he breathed, running his palm over the dip between her breasts, smearing the buttercream over her chest. He picked her up and sat her on the kitchen table and in response she wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him in to her. Their tongues clashed furiously , each wrestling for control. Katniss tore at Peeta's t-shirt, desperate to see his naked torso once again. She pulled it up and over his head, immediately bringing her lips to one of his nipples and delighting in the sharp intake of breath from him. Her hands reached around behind his back, smearing more icing over his naked flesh. He pushed her off him and leant behind her, quickly clearing a space on the kitchen table, not caring that the majority of the cakes he had made earlier were now on the floor. "I have to have you now," he said, his voice heavy with desire, "I can't wait another moment." He undid the buttons on her shorts and swiftly pulled them down, Katniss lifting her hips to help him. Laying back on the table, looking up at him as he slowly undid the fly on his jeans, Katniss couldn't remember ever being so turned on in her life. She reached between her own legs, sliding her sticky fingers down between her wet folds. Peeta grabbed her hand away, and pulled her fingers into his mouth, his eyes falling closed as he tasted the mix of strawberry icing and her own sex on them. "You're too much," he said as he positioned himself at her entrance.

As he pushed in to her she cried out at the feeling of fullness as he stretched her to her limit. He paused for just a moment, pulling the thin cotton of her bra down to release her breasts and running his hands over them, pinching and pulling at her pebbled nipples. "Tell me one of your fantasies," she managed to gasp out.

"Aside from what's happening right now?" he said, pulling at her hips to bring her closer to him. He stroked down one of her legs, lifting it up and resting it against his shoulder. His eyes travelled the length of her leg, from her toes right down to the apex at the top of her thighs and back again. "Heels. God, I'd love to see you in stockings and a pair of heels. Sorry. Typical bloke fantasy, I know."

She chuckled as she wrapped her other leg around his waist pinning him in place. "I don't do heels," she said. "I can't walk in them to save my life."

Peeta rolled his eyes as he began to thrust in to her. "Don't need you to walk in them," he grunted. "They'd be solely for the bedroom. Or the kitchen table. Or wherever. What about you?"

She was having trouble thinking as Peeta relentlessly pounded in to her. Image after image flashed through her mind; her own hands tied behind her back as Peeta roughly bent her over and fucked her from behind; Peeta in a submissive state, blindfolded and tied to a bed as she had her way with him again and again; fucking him in public, fucking him in the shower, fucking him while being filmed… she didn't know where these images were coming from, nor which would turn Peeta on the most. "Beach," she finally managed to choke out, just as Peeta had wrapped one arm around her leg, licking and kissing her calf while using his free hand to graze over her clit. "I want to…make love…on a beach… only light from the moon…waves lapping at our feet."

"That's way better than mine," he said, slowing down his pace. "Maybe we could combine the two."

"Whatever Peeta, just don't stop, please." She grabbed hold of the edge of the kitchen table, bracing herself as he began thrusting hard into her again. The friction from his thumb against her clit soon built up a pressure that sent her spiralling in to oblivion. She gripped him even tighter with the leg wrapped round his middle, her muscles convulsing as she screamed in pleasure. Her eyes had fallen shut and she was unable to move, only just aware of Peeta calling her name moments later. The sound of a chair scraping across the floor brought her back to her senses, and she opened her eyes, taking in the sight of Peeta sat staring at her, a look of sheer disbelief on his face. She covered her mouth and began to crack up. He was an absolute mess; streaks of pink ran down his face and torso, sliding over him as it mixed with the sweat he had built up, and a mass of congealing icing made his hair stick up on end. She could only assume she looked as bad, if not worse.

"That was…wow…" he said, rendered seemingly incoherent.

"Yeah."

"We should probably get cleaned up."

She sat up, looking around at the chaos of smashed cakes and smeared icing surrounding her. "Shit, Peeta. I told you I'd end up ruining them."

"Genuinely could not care less right now. Anyway, I'm more complicit in their destruction than you." He got unsteadily to his feet, pulling his jeans and boxers back up as he did. "You go grab a shower, I'll sort this mess out."

She left him in the kitchen looking dazed. Once in the shower with only her own thoughts for company she began to reflect. With each passing moment spent in his company it became more and more apparent to her that she wouldn't be able to do her story. Not the original one at least. She simply couldn't do that to him. But no one would want to read the story that he wanted to put out. There would be absolutely no public interest and therefore no papers would pay for it. Perhaps it really would be best to just cut her losses, accept what Gale said from the beginning about it being a bad idea and move on. Maybe that way, just maybe, she'd get to keep Peeta in her life…

Her shorts had managed to come away from their food fight relatively unscathed so she was able to redress in those, pull on a clean vest and make her way back downstairs. Peeta had cleared most of the debris away and was wiping down the table with a cloth.

"Was there nothing salvageable?" she asked.

A small smile spread across his face. "Yeah, there was one. I've saved it for you. Let me know what you think. They were supposed to taste a bit like Neapolitan ice cream."  
"Only one? Oh Peeta, all that work…."

"Don't apologise! On the one hand I could have some cake to give to my mates, or on the other hand I could have the best sex of my life. There's really no contest."

"The best?"

"Well, yeah. And if I made you feel even a fraction of how good you made me feel, I'll be proud of my prowess."

"Then be proud," she said flashing him a wink as his smile spread even wider.

Time was stalking ever forward. "I don't know what time people are coming but if you don't want them to question why your hair is pink and sticky, I'd get upstairs if I was you."

"Yes, ma'am," he said, planting a quick kiss on her lips before darting out of sight.

Foraging in his fridge she found an ice cold beer and leant against the back door frame. Despite the lateness of the afternoon the sun was still blazing down, and the cold beer was wonderfully refreshing, cooling her with every sip. She sighed plaintively. These last few days had been idyllic. She almost wished that she could have Peeta to herself tonight.  
As if to reiterate the thought, at that precise moment she heard a knocking at his front door. Belle responded with her usual bounding and barking. With one last sigh she hitched a smile on to her face, and held Belle back by her collar as she opened the front door.

"Kat!" came her sister's excitable voice. "Kat, it's so good to see you!" Prim rushed towards her with a similar force to Belle, almost bowling her over as she flung her arms around her neck.

"You too, sis," said Kat, returning the hug with a single arm as her other held Belle back.

"This is Rue," said Prim, indicating the petite girl just behind her. Katniss held out her hand to greet the girl. "So," said Prim, "Who's this guy you've been seeing?"

Katniss smiled. "You'll see."

"I know him?"

"You've met, yes. Come on in." Katniss walked the two of them through to the kitchen.

"We brought burgers," said Prim, holding up a plastic shopping bag. "Should I put them in the freezer?"

Katniss felt like she received a blow to the stomach. She looked in the bag at the packets of premium lamb burgers as upstairs the shower switched off. "You'll have to get them out of here," she said urgently.

"What? Why? They're your favourites, right?"

She could hear Peeta moving upstairs and she thought about what he would say if he had overheard that question. An image of Sterling the lamb skipping and bounding in the paddock outside popped in to her mind and she suddenly felt a little nauseous. "Maybe. I don't know. But I should have said not to bring meat, it'll really upset him."

"Then what do you want me to do with them?"

"I don't know, leave them in the car, chuck them in the bin outside, whatever, but you can't leave them in here."

"I'll run them out if you want," piped up Rue, taking the bag from Katniss and placing a delicate kiss on Prim's lips as she left.

"Pretty girl," said Katniss as soon as Rue was out of earshot.

"Thanks," said Prim in a deadpan voice. "So what's going on, Kat?"

"Where did you meet her?"

"We work together and don't change the subject. Why are you behaving so strange?"

"I'm not," she protested. "I just should have said before." She lowered her voice to almost a whisper. "By the way, if he asks, I'm veggie, ok?"

Prim's eyebrows jumped to the top of her forehead. "You?" she said with a tone of utter disbelief.

Katniss felt a little needled that Prim didn't think she was capable. "Yes actually."

"Kat," said Prim, shaking her head slightly. "You know lies aren't the best foundations for a relationship, don't you?"

"It's not like that! I mean, maybe it is but I didn't intend for anything to happen, it just kind of…happened. I'll tell you later, ok?" At that moment Rue came back inside, so speaking at a normal volume again Katniss asked, "Anyway, can I get you drinks?"

"I think I might need a gin and tonic," sighed Prim collapsing on one of the kitchen chairs.

"Rue?"

"Sounds perfect."

Katniss began opening cupboards at random. "Umm… Not sure where that would be, to be honest." She heard Peeta's heavy footsteps descending the stairs. "I'll check with the man of the house."

"Check what?" said Peeta as he walked in to the kitchen.

Katniss noticed how wide-eyed Prim had suddenly become as her gaze darted between Peeta and Katniss. "Peeta?" she asked.

"Hey Prim," he grinned as she stood up and rushed over to him, greeting him in a hug.

"How have you been?"

"Ok," he said. "Much better recently."

"I can't believe this!" said Prim. "How did you two meet?"

"I was her knight in furry armour," he said with a wink. "So… what can I get you all?"

Finnick and Annie arrived soon after. Finnick helped Peeta set up the barbecue, while Annie chatted with Rue. Seeing that everyone else was occupied Prim took the opportunity to take Katniss by the elbow and march her down the garden. When they were fully out of earshot Prim turned on her sister. "So are you going to tell me what the hell you're playing at, Katniss?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me, Katniss. No matter who else you're lying to, please don't lie to me."

She looked in to her sister's face, and there was a hardness in her eyes that Katniss had never seen before which caused her to wither slightly. She sat heavily on the grass in front of the pigs and began to speak. "Prim, I didn't know what would happen." She sighed a plaintive sigh and continued. "I was going to do a story on the badger cull, expose those trying to stop it as criminals. I met Peeta at a protest, we got talking and… one thing led to another…"

"You're sleeping with him?" Katniss nodded an affirmation. "Kat, that doesn't just happen!" She sat next to Katniss, shaking her head slowly. They both looked up towards the cottage, where Peeta and Finnick were both just about visible, beers in hand, prodding the smoking barbecue. "If he finds out…."

"He won't," Katniss said firmly. "Beside, I'm thinking of not doing the story anyway. I can't."

Prim still looked concerned. "I see so many patients day in day out, Kat. To be honest, most of them I forget once they're gone. Some stick with me and a handful I'll never forget. Peeta's one of the ones I could never forget."

Katniss' mouth had gone completely dry. She knocked back most of the rest of her bottle of beer, wanting Prim to continue but fearful of what she would hear. "Why?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Prim swigged at the rum and coke Peeta had made her in lieu of any gin. "I really shouldn't be telling you any of this," she said, pausing to take a deep breath. "After his accident, Peeta was one of the most broken people I've met. I don't mean physically. Emotionally. He was hurt in the worst possible way by someone he loved deeply, which in turn negatively affected his physical recovery. For a long time it was as if he'd just given up."

Katniss blinked back a few tears and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "This person who hurt him…what did they do?"

"His fiancée. She left him. Not face to face. She returned his ring while he was still unconscious after surgery. I didn't see her again after that. She didn't come to visit him once to see how he was. He asked after her every day and she never came. But I was always struck by his kindness, and his willingness to see the best in people. He didn't hate her for what she had done, but every day he would ask me if she had come back because he believed so thoroughly in love, even though it was devastating him. So, Katniss…if he's falling for you and he finds out you've lied to him, that you've broken that trust it won't just hurt him. It'll destroy him."

Katniss wiped her eyes on the back of her hand. "I won't hurt him."

"So you'll just pretend to be something you're not forever? Just… let him down gently, Katniss. It'll be the easiest thing on you both. I don't want to see you get hurt either."  
Prim stood up, kissed Katniss on the top of her head and wandered back to rejoin everyone else. Katniss was shaking at her sister's revelations. She hadn't intended to get in this deep, but she couldn't just walk away. And her advice of 'let him down gently'? She didn't want to let him down at all. Why couldn't she just live in the fantasy instead?

"Katniss?" Peeta's voice called down the garden to her. She turned to look at him and her heart ached at the new knowledge of his past. "Food's ready whenever you want it."  
She took a deep breath, wiped her eyes and prayed it wasn't too obvious that she had been crying. Hitching a smile on to her face, she called out, "Coming!" and jogged up to meet him.


	15. Chapter 14 - Peeta

Peeta stretched back in the grass, sipping at a beer, a contented smile across his face. Everything was perfect, and for a while he was able to forget all the financial worries that usually hounded him, and just appreciate being a young man enjoying good company.

He watched as Finnick and Annie played Frisbee, chuckling to himself as Finnick showed off with every throw and catch, still trying to impress Annie despite the fact they had been together well over four years now. Rue had proven herself to be just as adept at climbing trees as Katniss, and the pair of them were currently in competition to reach the highest point of an old oak that grew just before the brook that marked the boundary of Peeta's garden, while Prim stood under the boughs calling up to them in worry.

As always he had made far too much food, but despite their bellies being full it hadn't stopped everyone coming back for seconds, or in his case, thirds. As he predicted, the seitan ribs had proven especially popular, Katniss having to eat her words about how disgusting they had looked earlier. He slowly munched on the last one, feeling especially at peace with the world.

After a while Finnick came trotting over and after fetching himself a drink sat in the grass next to Peeta. "How you doing, mate?" he asked.

"Good, thanks," he replied, sitting up. "Really good."

"I'm really glad to hear it, mate. It's good to see you like this."

Peeta smiled to himself, then spoke after a moment's pause. "Finn? I just wanted to say thanks."

"For what?"

"For… well… for everything."

"What are you on about?"

He was finding it hard to express the gratitude he felt towards his best friends. "It's just… I know I've been difficult. These last couple of years have been hard and you've made it easier, and I don't know if I've ever really said thank you."

Finnick paused, staring at the grass. "Don't mention it," he said quietly.

"I have to. I've been a nightmare, and I'm sorry. But I think I'm going to be ok."

"Shut it. If it had been the other way round you'd have done the same for me. If I'd been more forceful it would have been the other way round."

"What are you on about?"

He took a deep breath. "I should have been the one to go and look after Annie that day. I should have insisted."

"So, what, are you saying you only stuck around out of guilt?"

"No, not at all."

"So shut up, then. If you'd been in my place I'd have ended up married to someone who in all likelihood didn't really love me. I'd have ended up miserable." He looked down the garden towards Katniss, who was still climbing trees with Rue. "And I'd have never met her."

Finnick smiled to himself. "We'll call it even then. Just don't make losing limbs a habit, ok?"

"I'll do my best."

"Make sure you do."

With a quick hug that both men tried to fill with unexpressed gratitude, Finnick left him alone to rejoin Annie. Peeta lay back in the grass, watching the sun slowly setting, the sky turning from pale blue to deep orange. As he did so Katniss appeared in his vision, coming closer, silhouetted by the golden sun which gave her the appearance of being surrounded by a halo of fire. "You're stunning," he told her as she approached.

She smiled bashfully. "Stop it."

"Why? I'm only telling the truth." She crouched down next to him and he sat up, allowing their lips to meet. "I wish you didn't have to go tomorrow," he said sadly.

"I know," she replied as her hand held the back of his head. Her fingers played with a couple of curls at the nape of his neck, twisting them round and round, and his eyes fell closed with a contented sigh.

"When will I see you again?"

"I don't know, Peeta. Soon, I hope."

"I hope so too."

She placed a kiss on his forehead. "Maybe you could come and visit me in London, if you get the chance?"

"I'd like that," he smiled. Yes, he'd be more than willing to overcome his intense dislike of large cities if it meant seeing her. He'd have to organise care for a couple of days for everyone, but he had to see her again as soon as he possibly could.

"Oh, and I think Prim wants to look at the cats, by the way."

"Sure."

"I think she wants to adopt one."

"Really? Well that's brilliant! Get her over, we'll go in now before we all get too drunk to remember!"

She called Prim over, and together with Rue, they entered the CPL enclosures. He watched as Rue squealed with delight over the tortoiseshell mother cat and her two tiny kittens who were mewling as they played, their tiny tails sticking straight up in the air. "Prim," she said, "We have to get one of these, they're just so cute."

"Sorry, ladies," said Peeta. "They're too young; they're not going anywhere just yet. They won't be up for adoption for at least another six weeks, and then only as a pair."  
But Prim had eyes for only one cat, it would appear. The largest of all, with long, golden hair, a squashed face and a torn ear. He had been eyeing the visitors suspiciously when they first came in but as Prim knelt down beside the bars of his enclosure he had run forward, rubbing himself back and forth, trying to push his face between the bars to get closer to her.

"What's his name?" Prim asked, and she had gone misty-eyed.

"I don't name them," replied Peeta. "If I do I get too close and I can't give them up. It's what happened to my boys indoors."

"He's gorgeous."

"Prim, there are a lot of words I'd use to describe that cat. Gorgeous, isn't one," said Katniss. Peeta could see the look of disdain on her face, and while it would ordinarily annoy him to see someone looking that way at one of his animals, he couldn't help but be amused.

"Ignore your grumpy sister," he said. "He is gorgeous. He's my longest resident here, I've been having trouble rehoming him."

"I wonder why," said Katniss, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Why have you had trouble?" asked Prim, still unable to tear her eyes from the cat.

Peeta shook his head slightly. "He came here in really bad shape. I think he'd been used as bait in a dog fighting ring. So he's really distrustful of most people, and other animals too. He's a bit older as well. Not sure how old, maybe about ten, but most people only want to adopt the younger, healthier cats."

"He's perfect," said Prim.

"He seems to have taken a liking to you."

It was true. The entire extension was filled with the deep rumbling purr coming from the cat as he tried to get closer and closer to Prim through the bars.

"Do you want to hold him?"

"Can I?"

"Of course."

He unlocked the cage door and immediately the cat ran towards her, winding himself around her legs and talking with a screechy, broken meow. Prim bent down and picked him up, causing him to purr louder than ever.

"When can I take him home?"

"Not today, I'm afraid. I need to do a home check, nothing bad, just I like to make sure you're not on any main roads or anything, and obviously you need to get prepared, get him a bed, which he probably won't sleep on, a litter tray, bowls, food, all of that. But if you're free sometime next week then come back and we can do all the paperwork."  
With one last kiss to the top of the purring cat's head, she put him back down inside the enclosure and Peeta locked the door again. He slipped his arm around Katniss' waist as they left. Good food and drink, great company, a beautiful woman on his arm and now a potential rehoming for a troubled animal. Today really couldn't get any better.  
________________________________________  
As the sun had set Finnick had suggested moving everyone indoors, and once the drinks started flowing a little more freely and no one could be bothered to move too far, the Xbox had been switched on.

There wasn't enough couch space for everyone, but with the addition of a couple of large beanbags that Peeta and Katniss had claimed on the floor, they were all able to find a space to relax. They were playing _Left4Dead _, passing the controllers between each other each time they reached a safe house. Annie never played, and was much happier as a spectator. Prim was pretty terrible, giving up halfway through her go and passing the controller on to Finn to finish the level for her. Rue was enthusiastic but kept pressing ahead too far from the group, getting herself in to trouble when there was no one around to save her. Peeta was surprised by Katniss; despite having never played before she managed more headshots than anyone else combined.__

__They were on the final level, Peeta with one controller and Finnick with the other. Katniss had stretched her legs out across Peeta's lap, and while her eyes were on the screen, Peeta knew her mind was elsewhere; she kept surreptitiously stroking his crotch with her foot. He tried his best to ignore the attention but his body had other ideas, his cock rapidly swelling under gentle ministrations. He looked away from the screen for a split second and caught Katniss' eye, and there was a mischievous sparkle in them before he heard a familiar sounding screech/scream._ _

__"Fuck," he spat out. In the moment he had been distracted his character had been pinned down by a Hunter. "Finn, can you help me out here?"_ _

__"Kinda busy at the moment," Peeta flashed a glance at Finn's side of the screen; he was pretty overwhelmed but holding his own._ _

__He looked back at his own side. The Hunter was still tearing in to him. "Shit. I've got a Hunter on top of me. Totally destroying me." He could feel Katniss' legs tense slightly in his lap. "You ok?" he asked her._ _

__"Huh? Yeah… Just…you know." She nodded her head towards the screen, where Peeta's character was practically dead. The screen faded to darkness._ _

__"Fuck," said Peeta, putting the controller down. "Killed at the last hurdle by a piece of shit Hunter."_ _

__A split second later the rescue helicopter signalling the end of the level landed, and Finn ran straight for it, climbing on board. "Yes. Finnick Odair saves the world again."_ _

__"If you're our best bet for the future of humanity we're fucked, mate," teased Peeta, as he wrapped his arms around Katniss' legs, placing a gentle kiss on the side of her knee._ _

__At that moment there was a loud and insistent knocking at the front door, making everyone jump. Peeta looked at his watch. Quarter to midnight. He had no idea who could possibly be calling on them this late at night. He looked round the room, and everyone else seemed as confused and wary as he was. The knocking became more insistent. Katniss swung her legs off of Peeta's lap allowing him to stand. "Stay here," he said, as the alcohol in his system rushed through his blood, making him a little dizzy._ _

__Out in the hallway it sounded as though whoever was outside wasn't knocking; it sounded as though they were trying to kick the door down. He could see the outline of whoever it was through the frosted glass in the door. Finnick joined him in the hallway, closing the living room door behind him, repeating Peeta's words of "Stay here" as he did so. The two of them looked at each other, nervousness apparent in each other's faces. Finnick grabbed an umbrella that had been leaning up against a wall and held it up like a javelin, the blunt metal spike facing forward, while Peeta picked up his keys from a hook on the wall, placing them in his hand with the keys poking through his fingers, like a bizarrely shaped knuckle duster._ _

__Slowly and unsteadily they edged towards the front door. Peeta signalled to Finnick to be ready; in response Finn raised the umbrella even higher. Using his free hand Peeta reached for the door handle, turned to Finnick and mouthed ' _Three...Two…One..._ ' then pulled the door open with all the force he could muster._ _

__"What the hell are you two playing at?" snapped Thresh, as Finnick lowered the umbrella and Peeta dropped his hand back to his side. In his arms Thresh was carrying a lamb who was clearly injured._ _

__"We've been playing _Left4Dead._ "_ _

__"What, on the Xbox, or for real?"_ _

__Feeling suddenly very stupid, and feeling himself sober up almost instantly, Peeta looked at the lamb and asked, "What's happened?"_ _

__"A lorry jackknifed on the A12. It was probably headed for Cheale Meats. Half of them were killed, but they were rounding up the survivors."_ _

__"To kill them at the 'right' time."_ _

__Thresh nodded grimly. "It was just sheer luck I was on the road. This little guy had managed to stagger down the road away from the lorry. I grabbed him and put him in the back of the van. He needs help."_ _

__"Bring him through." He let Thresh pass him to the kitchen, opening the living room on the way and letting the girls know everything was ok._ _

__The lamb was clearly terrified, and one of his back legs looked broken. He would need feeding, and the best food available would be if Mallory would adopt him and allow him to suckle. But until that leg was sorted there was no way he would be able to stand and feed himself. This was beyond anything Peeta could fix himself, but at this time of night a vet wouldn't come out for a 'livestock' animal. And until they washed the spray paint markings from his back, it would be obvious that the lamb had been 'stolen' from the crash site._ _

__Katniss came in to the kitchen and her eyes widened at the sight of the lamb on the table. An idea came to Peeta. "Get Prim. Now."_ _

__She nodded and returned moments later with Prim in tow. "Can you fix him?" Peeta asked her desperately._ _

__She opened and closed her mouth at the sight of the lamb, then looked at Peeta sadly. "I'm a nurse, Peeta. I'm not a vet."_ _

__"Please, Prim. Please try."_ _

__The desperation must have been written all over his face, because after a moment she nodded and stepped forward. "I'll need to get this cleaned up. Get me some hot water and disinfectant."_ _

__Peeta did as she asked, fetching her clean towels and cloths as well. As Prim got to work on cleaning the injury, Rue helping her, Peeta started tearing the kitchen apart looking for bottles to feed him with. "I hand raised those pigs, I _know_ I've got at least one here somewhere…"_ _

__"What are you going to feed him with?" asked Finnick._ _

__"Sheep's milk," he replied._ _

__"Right. And you know how to milk a sheep, do you?"_ _

__"No. Do you?"_ _

__"No."_ _

__"Thresh?"_ _

__"Don't look at me."_ _

__"I can do it," said Katniss as everyone's eyes fell upon her. "Prim and I, well… Prim mostly… we had a goat when we were young. It can't be much different, right?"_ _

__Peeta stepped towards her and threw his arms around her neck. "Thank you," he whispered in to her ear. Handing her a large mixing bowl he asked, "Is this ok to get it in to?"_ _

__"It'll be fine," replied Katniss, heading out the back door._ _

__Once Prim had cleaned the lamb's wound, she tried to reset the bone and splint it using some bamboo cane Peeta found for her. It wasn't ideal but it would do until they could get him seen by a vet in the morning, once the danger of him being taken away from them had passed. Once the feeding bottles had been found and sterilised all they could do was wait for Katniss to return. The lamb was shaking so they wrapped him a blanket, and Peeta placed him on his lap, holding him steady and stroking the top of his head to try and comfort him._ _

__It seemed to take an age for Katniss to come back, carefully carrying the bowl of milk in her arms. She helped transfer it into a feeding bottle and handed it to Peeta who held it front of the lamb. When the lamb started suckling he almost cried in relief._ _

__It was nearly two o'clock in the morning when Thresh bade them farewell with the promise of checking on them in the morning. Peeta offered Finnick and Annie his bed again, as he would be staying up all night to keep an eye on the injured lamb. He thanked Prim and Rue profusely for their help and asked Finn if he could show them where the spare room was._ _

__"If you want to go to sleep too you can," Peeta said to Katniss once they were alone. "I'm probably not going to be great company for the rest of the night."_ _

__She kissed the top of his forehead. "You're a real sweetheart, Peeta."_ _

__"Thank you for helping tonight, Katniss. I don't know what I would have done without you. He has a chance to live, and it's because of you."_ _

__The words seemed to strike something within her. "Thank you," she said quietly. "Can you bring him through to the living room? Stay with me?"_ _

__"Of course," he replied. He stood up, the tiny lamb wrapped in his arms, and followed Katniss before settling himself in one of the oversized bean bags again. Katniss stretched out on the couch behind him, her arm draped over his shoulder and languidly running up and down over his chest. He leant back, resting his head against the couch, making sure the young lamb was comfortable and settled. "I don't want tomorrow to come," he admitted at last._ _

__"I know," Katniss replied. "But we'll see each other soon, right?"_ _

__"Right."_ _

__"Promise?"_ _

__"Promise."_ _

___She smiled and kissed him just behind his ear then settled back down. Peeta listened to the sound of her breathing as it eventually slowed down. The lamb in his arms was also sleeping peacefully. He began to run though names for him….Cyril? Krieger? Woodhouse? Nothing seemed to sound quite right. He would figure it out sooner or later. His eyes began to grow heavier. How about Ray? Len? No….. It was becoming harder to think at all… Were there any other male characters? He couldn't remember…. He let out a long breath, his eyes falling closed as the lamb shifted slightly in his lap. He was going to regret sleeping like this in the morning….  
________________________________________  
A spasm in his neck brought him back to immediate consciousness. He checked his watch. Eight a.m. How he had managed to sleep as late as this he didn't know. But he'd been asleep on that bean bag for about six hours, and his body could feel every single second of it. His right leg was numb with pins and needles, a feeling that was echoed in phantom in his missing limb._

__The lamb was still curled up in his lap. He stretched his arms out with a yawn and petted the lamb gently. He could tell straight away that something was very wrong. He was far too still, and when he had stroked him he had felt cold to the touch. He shook him very gently. Nothing._ _

__"No…" he whispered, shaking the lamb harder to try and wake him. Still nothing. "Please…"_ _

__A wall of ice hit him full pelt in the stomach, and he knew there was nothing to be done. The first night after a rescue was always going to be touch and go, but he had held such hope after the help from the Everdeen sisters. He bent double over the tiny creature, clutching on to him as if by holding tight he would be able to instil life in to the diminutive corpse. He was convulsing with the effort of keeping his tears silent. Every now and then his breath came out as a ragged gasp as the effort of staying silent became too much._ _

__"Peeta?" He felt Katniss' hand on his shoulder, squeezing him gently. He shrugged her off as he let out a shuddering cry, holding on tighter than ever. "Peeta, you did your best."_ _

__She had obviously meant for her words to be a comfort to him but they had the opposite to the intended effect. "And it wasn't g-good enough," he sobbed._ _

__She stroked across the back of his shoulders in an attempt to show him support. He had no idea how long he was sat huddled over, but after a while he became aware that the two of them were no longer alone. Finnick knelt down in front of him and gently scooped the bundle out of his arms. "We should bury him," he said softly as he stood up and exited the room._ _

__Peeta felt two hands on either side of his face. "Listen to me, Peeta," said Katniss firmly. With a concerted effort he raised his head to meet her gaze and through his tears he could just about make out the wetness in her own eyes. "You did nothing wrong. Yes, he died, but he died knowing love, which is more than he could have hoped for if he hadn't been brought here."_ _

__"It shouldn't be this way," he whispered._ _

__"But it is. You can't change that."_ _

__"I don't understand why. They're just babies, Katniss. Just babies. They don't deserve this."_ _

__She brushed the tears away from his cheeks and said firmly, "Come with me."_ _

__He couldn't have resisted her even if he wanted to. She grasped his wrist and led him outside and through the honeysuckle archway. "What do you see?" she asked him._ _

__He looked around and his eyes alighted on Finnick in the distance, a shovel in his hands. "Graveyard," he answered darkly._ _

__"Stop it," she said firmly. "Look elsewhere."_ _

__He sighed impatiently. "I know what you're trying to do Katniss. But you were right before. I can't change anything."_ _

__"I didn't say you can't change _anything._ You can and you have. For all of them. You told me that on Monday night. Or were you lying?"_ _

__He shook his head. "It isn't enough. It'll never be enough."_ _

__"Snap out of it. You sound like you're just giving up."_ _

__"I'm not," he mumbled._ _

__"Good," she replied. "Because they need you to carry on. So do I."_ _

__He looked up at her and there was a furious strength in her eyes. Taking heart from her, he nodded. "You're right."_ _

__She looked towards Finnick. "You should probably go and help."_ _

__He nodded again. "Thank you."_ _

__"For what?"_ _

__"For bringing me back from a very dark place."_ _

__It was a sombre end to such a fun evening previously. Peeta found an old sheet in which he shrouded the lamb prior to burying him. After he was buried Katniss laid a few wild flowers she picked from the edge of the woods on top of the mound of earth. Peeta turned to Katniss, wrapped his arms around her waist placed his lips against her forehead. "Thank you again."_ _

__He didn't want to let her go. Letting go would mean acknowledging that today she would be leaving, a reality he wasn't quite ready to face. No one had been able to stop his thoughts travelling down dark paths quite the way she had, with just a couple of words and a single look. With every passing moment he wondered more and more how he had ever managed to cope without her._ _

__At length he released her from his grasp. "When will you have to go?" he asked her._ _

__"I should probably go after lunch. If I leave it too late I'll end up wanting to stay another night."_ _

__"You can if you want. I wouldn't mind," he told her in earnest._ _

__She smiled a knowing smile. "I know you wouldn't. But I have to get back. I have to type up that short story and submit it. I have paperwork to get done that's back home. I can't stay here indefinitely, Peeta."_ _

__"I know," he said. "But I can dream, right?"_ _

__As always when they would have given anything for the clocks to stop and for time to cease its inexorable march onward, the day was slipping away from them. Before he knew it he had waved Prim and Rue off with the promise of seeing them again in the week to finalise the adoption of the cat Prim had so deeply fallen for. Soon after came the time to say goodbye to Katniss. He stood on his front porch holding her tightly. "Katniss," he said quietly to her. "I can't begin to express how happy you make me. I am going to see you again, right?" He could feel his own heart pounding in his chest, where Katniss was enveloped in him._ _

__"Of course, Peeta, stop worrying."_ _

__"I just… I still can't believe these last few days have actually happened. It feels like some crazy fantasy I've imagined."_ _

__"I know what you mean. Try not to leave it too long to come down?"_ _

__"I'll be there the moment I can. I promise."_ _

__With one last lingering kiss she pulled away from him and climbed in to her car._ _

__"Call me as soon as you get home. I want to know you're safe."_ _

__"I will," she promised. "See you later."_ _

__He smiled. He had always so much preferred 'see you later,' to 'goodbye.' "See you," he said. He watched until she drove completely from his view. He was filled with a strange feeling. It was a little frightening, but at the same time it filled him with hope. It was the knowledge that since Katniss had entered it, his life had irrevocably changed._ _


	16. Chapter 15 - Katniss

It had been a strange couple of weeks. After her return to London Katniss felt as though she were leading a double life; she hadn't told anyone what had occurred between her and Peeta, and while Johanna had suspected and ribbed her constantly, she hadn't confirmed precisely how close the two of them had become.

And they really had become close. At first they spent a couple of hours every evening on the phone, Peeta putting her on loudspeaker so he was able to talk to her while he painted. He would often become absorbed in his work and go quiet and so Katniss had talked him through setting up a Skype account, persuading him to place his laptop so that she was able to watch him paint during his quieter moments. Not a day had passed that they hadn't been in contact, and Katniss found herself counting down the hours during the day until they would be able to speak. At night he was all she could think of; it was always his name on her lips as she pleasured herself before going to sleep.

Gale was constantly asking her how her story was progressing. She couldn't bring herself to admit to him that she didn't want to write about the protesters being criminals. Over the past two weeks certain images had played over and over again in her head; the hens caged together in the factory on her first night with him, kept out of sight and therefore out of mind. The tiny lamb who had a reprieve from death at the slaughterhouse, only for life to be snatched away in the night, and how that one death had shaken Peeta to the core. She kept thinking about how much she loved feeding his pigs, and how Peeta had described how they very nearly met their end so early in life. And yet she didn't feel she could tell Gale any of this, instead feeling an immense guilt settle over her chest for accepting when he brought her a bacon sandwich, and even making a brief start on the story she didn't want to write, purely so he would leave her alone about it. She had abandoned the writing after just a paragraph, filing her notes away in a desk drawer with the rest of her unfinished work so she wouldn't have to think about her betrayal.

She wasn't certain why she hadn't told anyone about her and Peeta. Perhaps because admitting it to someone else would force her to acknowledge how deeply she felt for him, and the thought terrified her. If she didn't tell anyone about them, she could almost convince herself that what they had was nothing more than phenomenal sex. As soon as she told anyone she'd have to start coming to terms with the fact that her feelings for him were more than just sexual. She wasn't going to be able to keep it a secret for much longer however; Peeta had finally managed to get two days away. He would be arriving imminently, tomorrow they would spend the entire day together and he would have to leave the following evening. Which meant having to finally come clean.

It was half six in the evening and Jo was just getting ready to leave for work. As she finished running the styling wax through her hair, twisting the ends in to soft peaking spikes Katniss spoke up at last.

"What time are you finishing tonight?"

"I'm on the early shift, finishing around midnight. I'll probably get home some time around one."

"Ok. Erm… just so you know, I'll have someone here when you get back."

"Oh?" replied Johanna, tearing her gaze away from the mirror. "Who?"

Katniss could feel herself growing red under her flatmate's stare. She couldn't put it off any longer. "Peeta."

"Blondie?" Johanna asked excitedly. "I bloody knew it! You little shit! When's he getting here?"

"Any minute. I thought he may have already arrived by now."

"And you've seriously left it this late to tell me? Katniss, I'm hugely disappointed in you."

"I just… I wasn't sure if anything was happening between us."

"I don't believe you for a second. You lying little bitch. " Her words were harsh but she was grinning as she said them, and Katniss knew not to take it to heart. "I take it this is why you've been buying Quorn lately then, huh?" Katniss nodded in agreement. "Have you fucked him yet?"

"Jo…."

"So, that's a yes, then. Jesus, I can't believe you didn't tell me! For fuck's sake, Katniss, I have to go to work but I expect a full report at the earliest opportunity. Say hello to Loverboy for me."

She flashed Katniss a wink and headed out the door, cackling with laughter as she went and leaving Katniss alone. She sighed with relief that her confession to Jo wasn't as painful as it could have been and sat down to await Peeta's arrival. She had a great deal of fun proposed for the evening, and felt a rush of wet warmth between her legs as she thought about how Peeta would react to what she had been planning. She was going to make the fantasy he had described to her the last time they'd had sex a reality, but she was planning on drawing it out, teasing him and making him wait as long as possible.

To distract herself until he turned up she poured herself a glass of wine, turned on the television and put her feet up. As she sipped at the alcohol she felt her resolve lessen as she flooded with desire for him; it would take all her effort not to drag him straight to her bedroom as soon as he walked through her front door.

At long last she heard the buzzer which meant he was outside. She ran to the entry telephone in the hallway and picked it up. "Hello?"

After a second of crackling static she heard his voice. "Hey Katniss."

Her heart in her throat at the prospect of seeing him again, she pressed the button that would open the front down downstairs and said, "Come on up." She opened the door to her flat and waited in the communal hall, smiling to herself as she could hear his heavy footsteps walking up the stairs. Her heart practically stopped as he came in to view. He jogged the last set of stairs towards her, sweeping her up in his arms and capturing her lips in a kiss full of longing.

"God, I've missed you," he said as he pulled her even closer to him.

"You too." They stood in each other's embrace in the doorway to her flat, neither wanting to be the first to pull away, until Katniss realised that they had to stick to a pretty tight schedule if she was going to have her way with him in the exact way she wanted. "Come on in." She stood back to allow him to pass her. "Was the drive ok?"

"Not bad. The traffic got pretty shit as I got closer. Sorry if I'm late."

"Not at all. Do you want a tea or anything?"

"Tea would be amazing, thank you. Here." He opened his rucksack and started to rummage through, eventually withdrawing a carton of soy.

Katniss rolled her eyes. "You didn't need to do that. I bought you milk, you daft sod."

"Really? Thanks."

He followed her through, taking a seat in her living room while she boiled the kettle in her adjacent kitchenette. "I thought it might be nice to go out for dinner tonight," she called through to him.

"What, like an actual date?"

Her insides squirmed pleasurably at those words. "Yeah. If you like."

"Factory farms aren't romantic enough for you?"

"Oddly enough not really," she said as she set the mug of tea down in front of him.

"Dinner sounds great. I should have brought you flowers."

"Don't be ridiculous, what would I do with flowers?"

He looked mock-stung. "Are you telling me you didn't appreciate the two bunches of dandelions I went to all the effort of gathering for you?"

"Dandelions I'll make an exception for," she replied with a smile. "But only dandelions."

A lopsided grin spread across his face and he leaned in towards her. She met him halfway with a kiss. "So where are we going?" he asked, sitting back again and sipping at his tea.

"Here," she said, passing him a print-off of a menu. He took the menu from her and began to read. Within moments his eyes widened and his mouth fell open as he started scanning through the food.

"Is this…?"

"Yeah, I checked it out. You can have everything on the menu."

"Katniss, this looks amazing," he said as he turned to the front of the menu. "222," he read out loud. "Is it near here?"

"No," she replied, shaking her head at his complete lack of knowledge of London geography. "We'll have to travel in to Central. We're booked in for nine, so we should probably go sooner rather than later."

He reread the menu, making little groans of appreciation at what he saw.

"Impressed, I take it?"

"I'll say. Fuck me, this is like porn to me. Will I be ok there though? I haven't really brought any smart clothes," he said, still unable to tear his eyes away from the listed food.

"Peeta, this is London. You could probably wear a bin bag out and about and people wouldn't bat an eyelid."

"You're sure?"

"Positive."

"Lead the way then," he said, downing the last of his tea with a grin.

Katniss smiled internally. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Never had she met someone to whom that was a more appropriate saying. Part one of her plan for the evening was in full operation.  
________________________________________  
It was after they had finished a whole bottle of wine between them, just as they were coming to the end of their main course that Katniss decided to drop the bombshell on him. The wine in her system was making her bold, and she slipped her hand under the table to squeeze his thigh. He had been halfway through raising a fork to his mouth when she took him by surprise, causing him to drop the fork with a clatter.

"Sorry," he mumbled, quickly flashing glances around the room at the other diners as if to make sure they hadn't noticed what Katniss was doing.

She released her grip on him then pushed her chair back, standing up to lean in towards him. She brought her lips close to his ear and whispered, "I'm wearing stockings. I just thought you should know," before sitting back down. To confirm her point she quickly kicked off one of her shoes and brought her foot up to rub against his crotch. Her actions were hidden by the tablecloth but that didn't stop Peeta staring wildly around the room again. She could feel his growing hardness against the sole of her foot and watched as he swallowed heavily, looking down at her stocking-clad foot in his lap. "Shit, Katniss…"he said quietly. "What are you trying to do to me?"

"Nothing," she said innocently.

At that moment a waiter came over to their table to clear away their plates. "Would you like to see the dessert menu?"

"No, we're done, thank you," said Peeta at the same time Katniss replied, "Yes please."

She caught his eyes and there was a desperation in them that sent a thrill of excitement running through her. He swallowed again and said slowly, "Don't you think we should be getting back?"

"Oh, come on, Peeta. I want dessert. And how often do you get to have something sweet in a restaurant?" She continued to massage him under the table, delighting in how red he was becoming in the face and smirking as his hips began to buck upwards, increasing the pressure she exerted against him.

"Ok," he said at last, slightly breathless. "Yeah, we'll have a look at the menu, thank you."

Once they were alone again, she set her foot back down which caused a little whine of frustration to escape his lips. Katniss still had a couple of mouthfuls of wine in her glass which Peeta grabbed away from her and knocked back in one go. "You owe me," he said.

"Oh, I know," she replied. "And I plan on being very generous with my repayments."

He was clearly struggling to maintain his composure; Katniss could see how ragged his breathing had become, how wide his pupils had dilated as he looked at her, and the knowledge of how much power she was exuding over him sent a tingling jolt of electricity right to her core.

The waiter returned presently with the menus handing one to Katniss first, who thanked him profusely, then to Peeta who seemed to have forgotten anyone else was there. Katniss kicked his calf gently under the table and he shook himself back to the present. "Sorry," he said, realising where he was. "Thank you."

"What are you having?" she asked lightly, once again bringing her foot up to rest against his crotch. She smirked as his eyes fluttered closed.

"Don't care," he managed to choke out.

"You should. We have to get different ones so we can share. I think I'll have the chocolate gateaux. What about you?" She pressed further into him and his jaw clenched in concentration.

"Whatever, Katniss. You choose."

"You're happy for me to be in control?"

He nodded tightly, his eyes still closed.

"That's really good to know, Peeta. _Really_ good to know."

His eyes flew open at her insinuation just as the waiter returned to take their order. "One chocolate gateaux, one lemon cheesecake, please," she said with a polite smile.

"Can I have another glass of wine, please?" he asked, and as the waiter left them alone again Katniss couldn't help but be amused at the mounting level of discomfort Peeta was displaying.

"Don't get too drunk. I'm nowhere near through with you tonight."

"I won't," he promised. "I just need to… relax."

"Do you want me to stop?" she asked as she ran the entire length of her foot slowly up and down over his erection.

"I don't know," he groaned, putting his elbows on the table and leaning his head in his hands. "Yes and no. Please don't make me embarrass myself."

"Why? Do you think you might?"

He laughed nervously. "Keep that up and I'm not making any guarantees that I won't."

"Well, now I'm tempted to see how far I can take this," she said, increasing her pressure on him.

"Katniss, please…."

The waiter returned with their desserts and Peeta's drink and as he did so Katniss stopped her onslaught on him once more.

"These look divine," she said, indicating to the waiter that the chocolate was for her, the cheesecake for Peeta.

"I don't know how you expect me to eat," Peeta said, completely breathless.

"Never thought I'd hear those words coming from you."

He chuckled softly. "I guess there's a first time for everything."

"I guess so," she responded. "But we're not leaving until you do, so I'm sure you'll find a way."

He took a deep breath. "Well," he said, "When you put it like that…" Three mouthfuls later and half the cheesecake had vanished. "Did you still want to share this?"

"I'll try a bite. But you should slow down, boy. I'm not rushing this gateaux for anything. And we have a whole night ahead of us."

She took her time, savouring every single mouthful and revelling in his growing frustration. No sooner had she cleared her plate than Peeta called the waiter over for the bill, tapping his foot impatiently until it arrived. The very second they had settled up Peeta took her by the hand and practically dragged her outside. "Which way to get back to the tube?" he asked.

"You don't remember?"

"Not really, funnily enough I've become a little distracted the last half hour or so."

"So what you're saying is I could really torment you right now, and drag this out even longer."

"Do that and you might find us both getting arrested for indecent exposure and lewd behaviour."

That thrill of electricity went through her again, flooding her with desire as she seriously contemplated for a moment dragging him down an alleyway so she could fuck him there and then. No. She wanted him badly, more than she had ever wanted anyone, but she wanted to take him home so she could pleasure him over and over again. It was all she had thought about for the last two weeks; she wasn't going to change her plans now.

"This way," she said with a smile, taking him by the hand and marching him back to the tube station as quickly as she could.

The trains were already crowded, and the hordes of people didn't start to thin out until they got past Camden, meaning that for the majority of the journey the two of them were forced to stand incredibly close to each other. She could feel the strong beat of his heart, elevated a little higher than usual through his excitement, and she found it a great comfort to her, clinging onto him tightly even when the train began to empty.

It was nearing midnight by the time they finally got back to Woodside Park station. Ordinarily it would be another ten minute walk back home before Katniss could have him in her bed. They managed it in five minutes.

As she fumbled in her hand bag looking for her keys Peeta began kissing and caressing her neck and shoulders, and by the time they fell through her front door they had already started to undress each other. He quickly kicked off his shoes while Katniss tore at his clothes, pulling his t-shirt up and over his head and dropping it in the hallway, and undoing his jeans, pushing them roughly down over his hips. In his enthusiasm to be free of them he almost toppled over, turning them inside out as he hurriedly stepped out of them, leaving them on the threshold of her bedroom.

Once inside she closed the door and pulled his boxer briefs down, allowing his erection to spring free. She lowered herself to her knees and placed a wet, open mouthed kiss on the head of his cock, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from him. She stood up again and said, "Lie on the bed." He did as she instructed immediately. "Can you take this off too?" she asked, indicating his prosthetic. "I understand if you aren't comfortable, but… I really want to feel you next to me and nothing else."

He floundered for a moment or two, clearly dealing with some internal struggle.

"You aren't comfortable with it, it's cool, don't worry. I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry."

"No, it's… it's ok. I've just not been naked in front of someone like that before and… well, it's kind of a big deal to me. I mean, I know you slept with me with it off, but you haven't _slept_ with me with it off."

"It's ok, Peeta, if you aren't comfortable…"

"No," he said cutting her off. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I don't want to hide anything from you." He was shaking slightly as he pressed a button on the side of his leg which clicked loudly as he did so. She watched him slide the false leg away, prop it up next to the bed, then roll down the silicone liner that covered half of his left thigh revealing the stump underneath. Much like when he had first revealed to her that he was an amputee he didn't seem to be able to look at her, and despite him trying to deny it he was obviously uncomfortable; if nothing else, his rapidly waning erection proved that.

She climbed on to the bed, straddling him, and cupped his face in her hands. Placing a soft kiss on his lips she said, "You're beautiful, Peeta. Don't ever forget that."

"Thank you," he whispered.

"Now, lie back and relax."

She climbed off him and turned her back to him, slowly peeling off her clothing one piece at a time. She took her time removing her tight fitting jeans, bending over provocatively at the waist to push them down off her legs, revealing the stockings and suspenders to him at last.

"Holy shit…" she heard him breathe as his weight shifted on the bed. "No heels?"

"I told you. I don't do heels. I don't have any."

"I'll have to take you shopping sometime then. Heels and stockings look so good together."

"You like this look, then?" she asked, bending over at the waist again, distracting him as she rummaged in her underwear drawer and pulled out another pair of seamed stockings, balling them up in her fist.

"Uh-huh. Fuck. You look…. Wow…."

She was pleased to see his erection had returned in full and she climbed on top of him once again. He ran his hands up and down her legs, over the curve of her backside and up to her hips where he drew small circles with his thumbs over her. Her breath caught in her throat as he ran his fingers along the top of her stockings, snapping the clasps of the suspenders down on her legs. She enjoyed the sensation of his touch for just a few moments longer before grasping his wrists firmly and raising them above his head, revealing the second pair of stockings that she had hidden from him previously. "Do you trust me?" she asked him.

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open as he understood her intention. "Yes," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

She used the stockings to tightly bind his wrists together, and to tie them to her headboard. "Are you ok?" she asked once he was secure. He nodded wordlessly and Katniss used that as her cue to begin. She dropped her mouth to his neck, peppering kisses on every inch of skin she could reach. He moaned softly as she sucked on the skin over his collarbone, drawing it in to her mouth and nibbling gently. His hips were thrusting upwards, his erection pressing against the thin cotton of her underwear which was becoming wetter with each passing moment. Sitting up briefly, she looked down at him and grazed her short fingernails down his torso. The whimpers he made as her nails caught on his nipples flooded her with even more heat and she captured his mouth in a furious kiss, parting his lips with her tongue, sucking him into her mouth, and grazing his bottom lip with her teeth.

She sat up again. "Tell me, Peeta," she said, her voice husky with want. "Have you been thinking about me at all over the last couple of weeks?"

"I think you know the answer to that," he said.

"Then say it. Have you been thinking of me?"

"Yes."

"Did you touch yourself?"

He swallowed thickly and licked his lips before answering. "Yes."

Precisely the answer she had wanted to hear. She smiled and reached down between them, running her fingernail along the shaft of his cock. "Fuck…" he groaned as it caught on the ridge, before she grasped him firmly and began to pump him fast.

"Like this?" she asked.

He seemed to be losing the ability to form coherent speech. "Nuh…" he grunted. "Slower…" She obliged and his eyes fell closed briefly. "Yes…and…wetter…"

She raised an eyebrow and released her hold on his shaft momentarily, causing him to moan in frustration. He reopened his eyes just in time to see her spit into the palm of her hand. She rubbed the saliva over the head before closing her fingers around him once again. "Like this?"

He nodded, gripping tightly on to his binds, the muscles in his abdomen tensing.

"Did you do this every day?"

He nodded again, beginning to thrust upwards in to her hand. "Feels so good… Bit…faster…"

Again she obliged, increasing her pace and every now and again swirling her thumb over the tip, picking up the extra moisture. His breathing soon became shallower, hitching entirely in his throat as she used her free hand to pinch and pull at his nipples. "Katniss," he gasped. "I don't want to come like this. I want to be inside you."

"No, Peeta," she said, a wicked smile on her face. "You told me you earlier that you were happy for me to be in control. Are you close?"

"Yes," he choked out.

"Then come for me," she whispered as she bent over him, covering his lips with her own.

Her permission was all it took. She felt his cock thrum and pulse in her hand, his hot semen shooting over his own stomach as he called her name, pulling hard against the ties holding him in place. She sat back as a languid smile spread across Peeta's face.

"That was… something…." He murmured, his breathing shallow. "I'd love to do this to you."

"Maybe sometime. But not now."

"No?" he asked, looking a little disappointed.

"No. I'm nowhere near finished with you yet."

"Please, Katniss, I want to make you happy."

"Let's get you cleaned up first."

Without climbing off him she reached for a packet of makeup removal wipes on her bedside table, pulling one out and using it to bathe his stomach. "You too," he said, indicating her chest with a nod. She looked down at herself, noticing for the first time the line of semen dribbling down over one of her breasts, laughing at the look of pride on his face.

As she wiped herself clean she said, "I was thinking a lot about you too. Every night, before I went to sleep I'd think of you."

"Oh?"

"Mmm-hmmm. But the one thing I kept coming back to was how good your mouth and tongue felt on me." She paused to appreciate the effect her words were having on him, the longing in his eyes. "I want to feel that way again."

She stood up over him, pulling at the ties at the side of her panties so she was able to remove them while still wearing the stockings that were such a turn-on to him, then she carefully lowered herself, hooking her legs over his shoulders. He raised his head off the bed to meet her just as she grabbed a fistful of his hair, pulling him closer to her core.  
His tongue lapped greedily between her folds, and every now and then a rumbling moan of pleasure started deep in his chest, sending vibrations straight through her. Her heart began to beat faster, and she felt a wonderful warmth diffusing through her entire body. As he sucked at her clit, drawing it into his mouth, she cried out at first as the intense pleasure was almost akin to pain, but she began to rock her hips, riding him, encouraging him to lick and probe faster and deeper. She continued to hold his head in place with one hand, while her other sought his bound digits, entwining them with her own. She felt, rather than heard, him say, "Come for me, Katniss." Pleasure coiled up inside her like a loaded spring, and she rode his face faster and faster, feeling her orgasm build. His tongue swirled and flicked over her wet folds and as his teeth gently grazed her clit once more she froze in place as the pleasure crashed over her in wave after wave.

She released her hold on Peeta's hair, allowing him to lie back against the pillow. Her own wetness clung to his mouth and chin, and he was wide eyed and breathless. She lay down next to him, draping her arm lazily over his torso. "Well," she said as she traced her fingers over the lines of his tattoo, "I'm in a little dilemma now. Do I untie you, or do I leave you as you are?"

"Katniss," he breathed. "I need you. I really need you."

Her eyes travelled down the length of his body, lingering over his cock which had hardened again. "I can see that," she teased. "But that doesn't answer my question."

"Please…."

"I think you can stay this way a while longer. It's a really good look for you," she said, planting kisses on the side of his neck as she straddled him once more. She positioned herself above him, holding his erection steady as she slowly lowered herself on to him.

She had almost forgotten how full, how complete she felt with him inside her. Shifting her weight forward, she kissed Peeta's lips, tasting herself on them before she began to rock her hips to a steady rhythm. Peeta's breathing was erratic and he was straining against his bonds, pulling them tighter and tighter and Katniss felt a flush of worry that he was hurting himself. She placed a hand over his wrists and he opened his eyes, meeting her gaze with pupils so dilated that his ordinarily piercing blue eyes appeared almost black.

"Katniss," he choked out. "I'm going crazy, I need to touch you, please…"

She couldn't deny him when he asked with such longing and desperation. Maintaining her rocking motion she started to undo the tied stockings, although it wasn't proving easy. Peeta had pulled them almost impossibly tight, and she struggled to free him. "I might have to cut you loose," she said, her voice filled with worry for him, but instead of this news upsetting him he burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"I don't even know," he chuckled. "Seriously, I think I'm losing my mind. No one's made me feel anything close to this before. "

"Look, do you want me to stop and find a pair of scissors?"

"No," he replied. "No, don't stop. It feels too good for you to stop."

She kept one hand over his wrists to try and stop him hurting himself, and cupped his cheek with the other hand. He started to match her movements, thrusting up in to her each time she rocked her hips. "Peeta," she whispered. "God, you feel amazing."

"I want to see you come again," he said. She smiled and bent down to kiss him once more. If she was going to make that happen she needed clitoral stimulation as well, so she reached down between the two of them, stroking the sensitive and slick wetness. "Fuck, Katniss… That must be pretty much the sexiest thing I've ever seen."

"Hold on just a little longer," she whispered as her breathing started to quicken. The familiar pressure soon started to build, not as intense as before but somehow warmer. She tried to angle her hips in just a way that Peeta's cock would hit her most sensitive spot, inhaling sharply when she found the exact position she was looking for. "Peeta," she whispered as the pressure inside her grew to a peak, "Peeta, I'm coming…" Every one of her muscles stiffened as her orgasm ebbed through her body and for a moment she collapsed on top of his chest, feeling the strong pounding of his heart against the side of her face.

"What was that?" Peeta asked quietly, suddenly tensing.

"An orgasm," she answered, sitting up and feeling a little hurt and confused.

"Not that," he said. "Listen…"

She paused for a moment and heard it; a key in the front door. Johanna was home. "Johanna," she said to him. "We'll just have to be quiet then."

He took a deep breath and nodded as Katniss began to rock over him again.

A loud crash from outside her bedroom, followed by Johanna's exclamation of "The fuck…? Ugh. Keep your shit in your own room, Everdeen."

Katniss stared at Peeta, a look of dawning horror on her face as she realised a second too late what was about to happen. "Wait!" she called out, looking over her shoulder at her bedroom door opening as Johanna threw Peeta's gathered clothes and shoes inside.

Johanna froze , framed by the doorway for a second before a huge smirk spread over her face. "Whoops," she said, closing the door on them again. "Don't mind me."

Katniss turned back to Peeta whose blush had spread from his cheeks, down his neck and across the tops of his shoulders. He looked up at his bound wrists and pulled against the ties again. "Let me out of this, please." She could feel him becoming flaccid inside her; with a little disappointment that she wasn't able to finish him off she sat up and quickly searched through her bedside drawer for a pair of nail scissors.

"Hold still," she said, cutting at the ties holding him in place. His wrists looked sore from where he had strained so much against them but that didn't seem to bother him at all. Instead he sat up, swung his legs over the edge of the bed and reached for his artificial leg and liner.

"She saw, didn't she?" he asked, panic clouding the edge of his voice.

"Probably," she confirmed.

"Shit…" His breathing became shallow and fast.

"Peeta, calm down, it really isn't a big deal."

"Easy for you to say."

"Yeah. It is easy for me to say, because it's true."

"You don't understand…"

"No, and I wouldn't claim to know what it feels like, but Peeta, people aren't going to judge you for it."

"But they do, Katniss. They do." He let out a deep breath, and pushed his hair out of his face. "I was going to be married before this," he said with a nod to the stump, and Katniss held her breath; she already knew this but Peeta had never spoken of it before. "And she walked out on me. So please don't say people don't care. That it's not a big deal. Because they do, and it is."

She sat next to him as he furiously rolled the liner on. "Peeta," she said delicately. "I don't know what happened, but if she did that to you she couldn't have been much of a girlfriend. I don't want to assume anything, but it seems to me that there would have been other reasons. No one would walk out on someone they loved because they got hurt. She probably used it as an excuse to end something that would have ended anyway."

"You sound like Finn."

"Well, maybe you should start listening to people who care about you."

"But…"

"No buts." She sighed and slipped her arm around him. "Sorry the night ended this way. It wasn't really how I saw it going down. Do you want me to make you happy?"

He smiled a sad smile. "I'm not really in the mood anymore. But you look gorgeous. Stunning. If you ever feel like dressing that way for me again, please do."

She smiled and softly kissed his lips. "I will. It's a promise."

"Thank you."

"Why are you putting that back on, anyway?" she asked as he reattached the prosthetic back in to place.

"I need to use the bathroom, Katniss, and I don't especially fancy hopping down the hall. Where is it?"

"First door on the right. Don't let Jo grill you too much if she sees you."

He looked around the bedroom at his clothes that had landed haphazardly everywhere and pulled on his jeans. "My bag's still in the living room, isn't it?" he asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Do you want me to get it for you?"

The look on his face showed that he was seriously contemplating the offer. "No," he said after a while. "It's ok, I'll be ok."

As he left she stripped herself free of her underwear, switched on her bedside lamp, turned off the main overhead light and crawled under the covers to wait for him. After what felt like an age he returned, his rucksack thrown over one shoulder. He closed the door quietly behind him and leant back, letting out a long exhalation of breath. "You ok?" she asked him.

"Yeah. It could have been worse, I guess. I just had to pretend I wasn't wishing the ground would open up underneath me. God, she's worse at dropping innuendos than me."

"I know, only with her it isn't some big pretence. Come here," she said pulling back the corner of her duvet.

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled out some pyjama bottoms from his rucksack.

"Just take your clothes off and come and hold me," Katniss said.

He grinned as he took his jeans off once again, removing his leg and crawling in next to her. Katniss turned her bedside light off and rested her head against his shoulder, her leg hooked over his and her hand splayed out over the taut muscles of his stomach. "No more silly insecurities, ok?" she said to him.

"I'm not making any promises," he replied as he squeezed her tighter.

"I mean it, Peeta. You have nothing to worry about," she said, snuggling in to him. As she slowly drifted off to sleep, her last waking thoughts being the ever present worry of him finding out who she really was. Perhaps he did have something to worry about, after all…  
________________________________________  
She woke up with a start, a layer of sweat on her forehead. The sun was up but still pale in the sky, filling her bedroom with a dull grey light. She had the feeling that she'd had a nightmare… something to do with Peeta, but she couldn't remember what it was…. Even as she tried to remember the details started to fall through her fingers like grains of sand.

"Are you ok?" Peeta's whispered voice broke through to her, making her start.

"Fine," she said, trying to shake the groggy and uneasy feeling away. "Bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Can't really remember it," she said, still feeling uneasy. "Why are you awake?"

"I always wake up early."

"What time is it?"

He reached for his watch that he'd left on her bedside table. "Just before six."

She groaned slightly. "Ugh. Way too early. How do you possibly wake up this early without an alarm and be in a good mood? It's not natural." she said as she curled in to him.

"I grew up above a bakery. We lived there until I was about nine and I'd always help dad out with the baking every morning before school. Then the business really took off in a massive way and we were able to buy a separate house to move in to, but it meant having to get up even earlier to travel and get the work done. And since I've had the sanctuary I have to get up early to fit everything in to a day. I've just always been used to it."

"I repeat, it's not natural."

"If you want to go back to sleep you can."

"What'll you do?"

She felt him shrug underneath her. "Lie here until you wake up. At least I'm comfy."

"I can't just let you lie here alone."

"I'm not alone. You're here. Go to sleep if you want."

"Bloody hell, Peeta, do you have to be so bloody noble?"

"Awww, you're cute when you're sleepy and cranky."

"Shut up." She closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again and sitting up with a sigh. "I can't sleep knowing you're just lying there watching me."

"I can go for a walk if you'd prefer."

She threw her hands up in frustration. "I'm not throwing you out of bed, either."

He was shaking with silent laughter. "Katniss, I know my morning habits are annoying to most people. It's fine. I'll get up and go for a walk. Go back to sleep. Can I take your keys?"

"Fine, they're on the table by the entryphone."

She rested her head back down on her pillow as Peeta kissed her forehead and got out of bed. She watched him dress through eyes that she was struggling to keep open. Before he left he placed one last kiss on her cheek. "Back soon," he whispered to her as he left her alone.

The feeling of apprehension and unrest she had felt at waking from whatever had troubled her during the night was still there but lessening with time. She could still feel where Peeta had kissed her cheek and, focusing on the warmth she felt there, she allowed sleep to take her once more.  
________________________________________  
The most wonderful and inviting smells were reaching her. She couldn't recall anything so tempting ever coming out of her kitchen before. Warm bread and proper coffee… She sat up straight, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes just as a pang of hunger hit her full in the stomach. The time on her mobile phone said 10:38 a.m. She quickly pulled on a pair of shorts and a vest top and stumbled down the hallway and through her living room, yawning as she went. She spotted Peeta in her kitchenette, floury hand prints covering his jeans, stood by the sink and washing up a large mixing bowl. On the work surface near him she spotted a large loaf of crusty bread with a wedge cut out, which had been plated up and placed on a tray, along with a croissant, a pot of jam, a tub of Vitalite spread and a cafetiere full of freshly brewed coffee. A tall glass of water housing a single dandelion sat alongside the food. He finished washing up the bowl and set it down on the side, turning back to the cafetiere and plunging the top down slowly.

"Peeta?"

He turned towards her at the sound of her voice. "Hey! Good morning, beautiful!" He turned back to the tray he was preparing. "I was going to bring you breakfast in bed."

She took a few steps closer. "Did you make all this?" she asked.

"Just the bread, I'm afraid. The croissants are those Jus-Rol ones. I've not tried to make croissants from scratch before, and I didn't think now was a good time for experimenting."

She shook her head in disbelief, and picked up the glass with the dandelion. "And this?"

He smiled to himself. "Well, they're the only flowers you said you'll accept."

"I don't know how you did all this, Peeta. I really don't"

"I found the twenty-four hour Sainsbury's up the road, and I just thought it'd be nice for you to have a decent breakfast to wake up to. It's a really warm morning so it didn't take long for the bread to rise. I hope it's ok. Anyway, sit down, I'll bring this over."

She sat on her couch and Peeta placed the tray on the coffee table in front of her, before returning to the kitchenette and grabbing a plate and loading it up with two croissants and a wedge of bread. She picked up the bread on her own plate; it was still warm, soft and steaming slightly in the middle with a thick crust. Spreading a thick layer of raspberry jam over it, she took a bite. "This is delicious, thank you," she said thickly.

"No problem at all," he replied, taking the jam and placing a large spoonful on his plate beside the croissants.

She watched him for a few moments, a feeling of contentment washing over her, driving away the quiet unease she had felt since waking so early. He looked up to see her watching him and an expression of worry passed briefly over his face. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes," she replied. "Everything's perfect."

A small smile lifted up the corners of his mouth and he turned his attention back to his breakfast. "What are we doing today?"

"I don't mind, Peeta. Anything you want at all."

"Anything at all?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and causing her stomach to contract pleasurably.

"Well, we were interrupted last night, so if you wanted to pick up where we left off…"

He grinned widely. "I'll definitely take you up on that later. But it's a really beautiful day, I just want to be outside. Is there a park near here we could go to?"

"Of course."

After finishing their breakfast and leaving a note for Johanna to help herself to the rest, Katniss led Peeta back out of the building and towards the park. He grabbed a sketchbook and black ink pen, and got Katniss to put them in her bag, just in case the opportunity to sketch something came up. As it was a Saturday the park was already busy by the time they arrived but they managed to find a quiet and shaded corner to themselves. Katniss kicked off her shoes, delighting in the feeling of the grass under her bare feet. On seeing this Peeta immediately retrieved his sketchbook and started to draw.

"What are you doing?" Katniss asked.

"Hmmm?" he said, his full concentration on his work. "Oh, I just don't want to ever forget this. You're too perfect."

"Do you do requests?" she asked.

"What kind of requests?"

"I don't know… If I wanted you to draw us in a certain way, could you do that?"

He raised an eyebrow at her words. "In a certain way? What kind of way?"

"Nothing like that!" she said, pulling up and handful of grass and throwing it at him. "Just, I don't know… different styles… "

He paused for a moment. "I guess it depends on the style. I could give it a go. What did you have in mind?"

She lay back in the grass, and looked up at the sky through the dappled leaves above them. "Erm…. Let me have a think…. Can you do us as _Simpsons_ characters?"

He chuckled and turned to a new page. "I'll give it a go."

She closed her eyes and listened to the scratching of his pen on paper for several minutes. "How's it coming along?" she asked eventually.

"Getting there," he replied. "I wish I'd got a pencil though. I don't think I've done your eyes quite the right shape."

"Aren't they all just two circles?"

"No, often the female characters have oval or almond eyes. What kind of fan do you call yourself if you think they're always circular?"

"Alright, you big nerd, I never claimed to be a fan!"

"I'm not a nerd!" he protested. "Geek, maybe, but never a nerd."

She scooted over to his side to have a look. Why he had complained about it not being perfect, she couldn't see. "This is fantastic!" she chuckled as he set his pen down. "Can you do anything else?"

"You really want me to just sit here and draw us?"

"Absolutely. Maybe one day you could have an installation. A whole room of the two of us in every style ever known. And this is where it all began."

"Ok," he said, picking up his pen again. "What's next?"

"Do another cartoon. What else do you watch?"

"It'd be far quicker to tell you cartoons I don't watch," he chuckled.

" _South Park?"_

He thought about it for a moment or two before a grin spread across his face. "Ok, shouldn't be a problem."

He was a little more hesitant this time, but Katniss couldn't help but be entranced as he turned such basic shapes into recognisable traits. "Who's your favourite character?" he asked after a while.

"God, I don't know. I don't watch it enough to have a real favourite. Probably Garrison, he always made me chuckle. You?"

"It's a toss up between Butters and Randy. I couldn't really choose. I see more of myself in Butters but Randy makes me laugh more," he said with a smile as he finished up and passed the book to Katniss for her approval.

"Perfect," she said, still amazed by how he had managed to capture their essence in such a basic form. "You still up for more?"

"Yeah, as long as you're not bored. I could do this all day."

"Not at all. Can you maybe do something a bit more complicated? Like anime characters?"

"That I can do," he replied with real enthusiasm. "What kind of weapons do you want?"

"Weapons?"

"Uh-huh. Modern or medieval?"

"You choose."

"Well, I don't really like guns so…"

"Can I have a bow and arrow then?"

"Sure," he said with a chuckle as his pen flew across the page. She was completely transfixed as he brought the blank page to life; the cartoon version of herself looked edgy, powerful and dangerous, wielding an ornate bow with a loaded arrow.

"What about you?" she asked.

He scratched at the stubble on his jaw as he thought. "Not sure. I don't know if I should be fighting alongside you or cowering behind you. That might be quite funny."

"You're not a coward, Peeta. Anyway, I need someone to cover my back."

"Ok, what weapon?"

She sat up beside him and stroked her fingers along his arms, gently squeezing the muscles. "Hmmm… definitely something more close combat for you. I think you could handle it." His Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed heavily, and she placed a kiss on his lips. "Go on, then," she encouraged.

He tore his eyes from her and returned them to the page. As before his pen didn't stop moving once, as if the pen was in control of Peeta's hand and not the other way around.

"I take it this is a style you're pretty familiar with, then?"

"Yeah," he chuckled. "I wanted to get in to animation when I was growing up. Just never quite made it that far. I've got whole books full of anime characters I drew throughout the years."

"Is that why you still love cartoons, then?"

"One of the reasons, I guess. Mostly it's just because they make me laugh."

As she watched him sketch her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out and read the text from Gale. ' _You about today? Pretty sure I left my 300mm lens at yours. Need it for a job tomorrow. Gx_ '

She read and re-read the message, her stomaching clenching uncomfortably. She couldn't stop Gale coming over, especially if it was work related. But she hadn't really counted on the two of them meeting. Not yet at least. She looked up at Peeta who was still immersed in his drawing and quickly formulated a reply. ' _Ok. Can you swing by this afternoon? Can't be around too long though, got someone here xx_ ' She hit send, hoping it didn't sound too rude and blunt, but that he'd get that he couldn't stick around all day.

Less than a minute later she got a reply. ' _Sounds intriguing ;) who is it? Gx_ '

Maybe now was as good a time as any to come clean with the truth? Or at least partially clean… ' _A guy I'm seeing xx'_

Moments later her phone buzzed again. ' _Dirty ho ;) alright, won't keep you. Be there about 4 ok? Gx'_

It was entirely possible she could keep them from having to meet each other at all… If she ran downstairs and took the lens to him herself there would be absolutely no need for him to come up to the flat and…

She cut off her own train of thought. She was acting like Peeta was some dirty secret she had to keep hidden from the rest of the world. Why shouldn't her two worlds collide? She'd speak to Gale, face to face, tell him about Peeta, he'd see how happy she was and that would be that.

Peeta was chewing thoughtfully on the end of his pen. "What do you think?" he asked her, laying his sketchbook down in front of her. Their anime selves were back to back, in combat-ready poses, ready to face unknown foes. Katniss with a loaded bow in hand, Peeta in a defensive stance, holding a knife out in front of him.

"Fantastic," she replied, grinning. "Really fantastic."

Peeta looked at it again with a critical eye. "I might re-do them, but more modern. I think I'd make a pretty good cyborg."

She playfully pushed him aside, and as she did he caught her around the waist, pulling her down on top of him, laughing at the same time. She joined him in laughter but they both paused as they looked into each other's eyes. For a moment nothing existed outside of themselves, and Katniss felt her breath catch as she saw the adoration he clearly felt for her. It was there, written all over his face. The affection she felt for him welled up inside her, overwhelming her and she pressed her lips against his, trying to convey to him what she had just experienced. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, matching his beat for beat. He returned the kiss, entwining his hands in her hair. "Katniss," he said, pulling away from her for a moment, "I don't want this to end. I don't want to head home tomorrow and not know when I'll see you again."

"Me neither," she replied, and she meant it. She rested her head against his shoulder as he wrapped her in his arms and together they lay under the shade of the tree, the ever present rumble of London traffic just audible under the shouts and laughter of the children playing nearby.  
________________________________________  
Eventually they had to leave the park; not only was the heat from the blazing sun too much, but Katniss explained to Peeta that she had to meet a friend back at the flat. "Who is it?" he asked as they walked back.

"A guy I work with."

"A guy? Is he good looking?"

She stared at him. "You know, I wouldn't have ever put you down as the jealous type."

He laughed. "I'm not, I'm just messing with you, I swear."

"You better be."

"So… _is_ he good looking?"

She gave him a playful shove which he graciously said he deserved and promised to shut up and say no more on the subject.

Back at her flat Katniss was feeling more and more agitated. She kept it hidden from Peeta but the thought of him meeting Gale any minute was making her more and more worried. She sat on her couch unable to relax, constantly checking the time on her phone. Thankfully Peeta seemed pretty oblivious, and was already thinking about his stomach more than anything. He had offered to cook dinner and was currently rooting through her fridge for inspiration.

"Shit, Katniss, I don't know how you cope with this," he said as he stood before the open refrigerator. "This thing's like a morgue."

"Blame Jo," Katniss lied easily, grateful that Jo was out. "Help yourself to the Quorn, though, that's all mine."

"No, that's no good," he said, and Katniss felt a little stung that her efforts were unappreciated.

"Why not?" she asked defensively.

"It's got egg in," he replied simply. "Have you got any decent large dishes I could make a pie in?"

"Don't know, check the cupboard above the oven." She listened to the clattering sounds of him looking through before his voice called back, "Bingo. Have you got a blender?"

"Not a good one. There might be a little hand blender somewhere."

"That'll work. Ok, sit back, relax, I'll make us a…" he opened the fridge again to examine the contents. "….a garlicky mushroom, leek and…..cannellini bean pie with…. mashed spuds and…. some kind of oniony gravy. Shit. Sorry it's not very inspired, I've not got much to work with here. Hopefully it'll taste better than it sounds."

"Peeta, I trust that whatever you put in front of me will be a million times better than anything I could do so I'm not going to complain. Can I do anything to help?"

"Just keep me company," he replied.

Despite only wanting her company he soon put her to work chopping and slicing vegetables while he made the pastry for the pie. It was a scene of blissful domesticity, one which Katniss would ordinarily have never pictured herself being a part of, but which she found made her happier than ever. She even managed to momentarily forget that Gale would be arriving any minute. It was as she watched open mouthed as Peeta somehow managed to create a creamy garlic sauce using just a cauliflower, some white wine and a few cloves of garlic blended together that the entry buzzer rang and she came crashing back to reality. "Back in a moment," she said, placing a quick kiss on his cheek trying to quell the sudden influx of nerves.

Instead of granting Gale automatic entry, she put her door on the latch and ran downstairs to meet him. She could see the confusion on Gale's face at her coming down to meet him as she opened the door. "You ok, Catnip?"

She rolled her eyes at the nickname, but threw her arms around his neck in a friendly hug. "I have a confession," she said.

"What is it?"

"Look, don't hate me, ok? I didn't mean for this to happen."

"What is it?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what she was about to say. "It's just… I met someone. When I went to the protests. And we really hit it off. And...one thing led to another. But I really like him, Gale. I really like him."

Gale was still and quiet. "So, this guy you're seeing is someone you set out to investigate?"

"I know. I know, but… it just happened."

"Who does he think you are, Katniss?"

"I've mostly been myself. He thinks I'm vegetarian but other than that I've been myself. And anyway, I've made a few changes, so it's not that big a lie."

"He's changing you? What kind of person does that make him?"

"No, Gale, I'm changing me. Just… please give him a chance. Please?"

He sighed and pulled her into a hug. "Sure, Catnip. But if he's a self-righteous arsehole I won't be held responsible."

"Thanks," she grinned into him. "He won't be."

Back in her flat Peeta was rolling out pastry and lining a large pie dish. He was immersed in what he was doing and at first didn't notice Katniss on her return. "Peeta?" she called and he looked up. His eyes darted between Katniss and Gale, lingering on Gale before a nervous smile crept over his face. "Peeta, this is Gale, we work together. Gale….Peeta, we've been seeing each other."

Peeta quickly rinsed his hands in the sink, dried them on the back of his jeans and held his hand out towards Gale. "Good to meet you."

Gale gripped his hand in response and shook it with a couple of quick jerks. "You too."

"Do you want a drink, Gale?" Katniss asked.

"You got any beers in?"

"Sure do. Peeta?"

"Just a tea for me, thanks."

Katniss joined him in the kitchenette while Gale took a seat in the living room. She filled the kettle, flicked the switch then stood behind Peeta, wrapping her arms around his middle. "Smell's amazing in here, Peeta. How long will it be?"

"Depends how hungry you are. Fifteen minutes to part bake the case, then the pie will take about another twenty after that. So whenever you want me to start, it'll take about half an hour. It's up to you."

"Leave it a little while. Come and join us for a bit."

He turned around to face her, kissing her lips then her forehead. "Sure thing, beautiful." Their fingers interlocked and together they sat on the couch, hand in hand.

"So," said Gale, eyeing Peeta suspiciously. "Where did the two of you meet?"

"We met on a protest. Against the badger cull."

So what, you're one of them PETA nutters?"

Peeta paused momentarily and Katniss could feel him tensing next to her. "No," he replied, clearly trying to inject some humour in to his voice but sounding a little terse. "I'm not a nutter. I'm just plain Peeta."

Gale snorted in to his beer. "Very good. Very funny. 'Cos there's nothing more irritating than those PETA nutjobs."

"Yeah, I agree," said Peeta quietly. "Nothing worse in the world than standing up for those oppressed masses who don't have a voice. I can't think of a single thing worse than daring to suggest we're actually nice to the other creatures we share this planet with."

"So," said Katniss loudly, trying to cut through the tense atmosphere. "Gale, what's this job you're on tomorrow?"

"Photo shoot for the _Observer Style Magazine _."__

__"Sounds exciting."_ _

__"Sounds more exciting than it is. It'll be a long day of taking close ups of shoes and handbags."_ _

__"Nice. Surely better than that boyband you had to do last week though?"_ _

__"Yeah. Bunch of bloody divas. At least shoes can't talk back." He took a long swig of his beer. "So….the two of you…. How long's that been going on?"_ _

__"We met about a month ago," said Peeta. "We hit it off pretty much straight away."_ _

__"Right. And what drew you together?"_ _

__"Look at her," Peeta replied, and Katniss felt herself blush under his gaze. "She's pretty much perfect. Beautiful, funny, intelligent-"_ _

__"-Honest," Gale cut in. Katniss glared at him, wondering why he seemed to be trying to ruin this for her._ _

__"Yup," said Peeta, apparently with no idea at the insinuation. "And in to AR to boot. She's pretty much my dream come true." He looked at Katniss with a smile and pulled her closer for a kiss._ _

__"Oh yeah, she's a catch alright."_ _

__"Peeta," Katniss spoke up, fearful of how horribly wrong everything seemed to be going and desperately looking for a way to calm the situation before it got out of hand. "Could you put dinner on? I'm really getting hungry."_ _

__"Sure," he said, "Back in a tic."_ _

__Katniss glared at Gale and shook her head almost imperceptibly. "I'll say it again," she called out to Peeta in the kitchenette, "It smells amazing."_ _

__"What is it?" Gale called out._ _

__"Mushroom , leek and bean pie."_ _

__"Oh. So, something that would actually be interesting if it had chicken in it."_ _

__"Gale!" Katniss said exasperatedly._ _

__"Look, I'm sorry, it might be ok for some people but I could never be vegetarian."_ _

__"Me neither," spat Peeta._ _

__Gale paused for a moment with a look of confusion on his face, until he was able to work ut what Peeta meant by those words. "Oh god, you're not vegan? Even worse. Sorry, I couldn't live without cheese or bacon so…"_ _

__"Yeah, well, lucky for me it's just a lump of congealed tit juice and a thin strip of charred pig corpse, not, you know, oxygen or water or anything actually important."_ _

__"Peeta!" Katniss said jumping to her feet and looking desperately between the two of them. "Will the two of you please stop it?"_ _

__Both men glared daggers at each other a moment before Peeta turned back to the kitchenette, mumbling an apology to Katniss as he did so. Gale looked at Katniss and spoke quietly to her, just loud enough that she could hear without his voice carrying. "I warned you, Katniss. He's a self-righteous prick. Put an end to this now before you get hurt."_ _

__"I'm not going to get hurt!" she hissed back at him._ _

__"You can't lie forever, Katniss. And the longer this goes on the worse it'll be. Either you come clean, or I'll tell him myself."_ _

__"Don't!" she whispered urgently. "I'll…. I'll tell him. Just…" She floundered on her words just as Peeta came back in the room._ _

__"Is everything ok?" he asked Katniss, worry etched in every line of his face._ _

__She nodded shortly. "Fine. Everything's fine."_ _

__"Ok." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Sorry if I came across harshly just then. So," he said, turning back to Gale, "Are you sticking around for dinner? There'll be more than enough, and maybe I can convince you we're not all that bad."_ _

__"No, you're alright. I don't eat any of that vegan crap."_ _

__"Oh," said Peeta, nodding. "Got you." As Gale went to take a swig from his tin of beer Peeta suddenly shouted, "Shit, wait!" and lunged forward, snatching the tin from his grasp._ _

__"What the fuck, man?"_ _

__"Sorry, I just thought I'd better save you from this here vegan crap."_ _

__"No need to be a dick."_ _

__"Gale!" Katniss cried, "Stop!"_ _

__"Well how am I supposed to know what's acceptable crap and what isn't? You're the one who said you didn't eat any of it."_ _

__"…Peeta, please…." Katniss whimpered._ _

__"Oh, for fuck's sake, you're just being a fucking pedant. Besides, you know there's not really any such thing as a vegan, anyway, right?"_ _

__Peeta stared at him for a second, a look of mixed anger and incredulity on his face. "What?"_ _

__"Your shoes, for example, what are your shoes made of?"_ _

__With an exaggerated gesture he slapped himself on the forehead. "Fuck me. You're right. 'Cos non leather shoes couldn't possibly exist, could they? Bloody hell, you'd have thought I'd have realised that by now, wouldn't you?"_ _

__"….Please, the pair of you, stop this…."_ _

__"Not just shoes, dickhole. Soap, cleaning stuff, toothpaste, tyres, glue… you name it."_ _

__"Yeah, you name it and there's a cruelty free version. So fuck off with this 'vegans don't exist' bullshit. Katniss, why are you even friends with this idiot?"_ _

__"Oh, here we go with the 'holier than thou' bollocks. You lot are all the same. You know plants are alive too, right?"_ _

__"Seriously, you want to go down that road? Fine."_ _

__He stormed off in to the kitchenette as Katniss collapsed in to the couch covering her face with her hands. He returned a moment later carrying a kitchen knife and an onion. "Here," he said, slamming the knife down on the coffee table. "This should present a really interesting moral dilemma to you." He held the onion up in one hand and then gestured to the knife. "Pick that up and stab one of us."_ _

__Katniss let out a shuddering gasp while Gale said quietly, "You fucking what?"_ _

__

__"You heard me. If you think there's no difference between harming a plant and harming an animal this is going to present a really difficult ethical decision to you. Stab one of us."_ _

__"Don't tempt me, you fucking psycho."_ _

__Katniss stood up between the two of them. "Please, stop this," she said, tears streaming down her face. But the rage in both Peeta and Gale was overflowing and unstoppable._ _

__"I'm the psycho? You're the one incapable of telling the difference between a person and a fucking onion."_ _

__"You're a psycho and self-righteous prick."_ _

__"Hey, I'm just being honest. Like if I was to say 'You're a cunt' I think that would be a pretty honest descriptor."_ _

__"Oh, you like honesty, huh? So that's important to you? Well, Katniss, I think he's shown his true colours, don't you think it's time you show him yours?"_ _

__"Gale, don't…" Katniss choked out, fear in her eyes._ _

__"Katniss?" Peeta's whole tone had changed from sheer unadulterated anger to questioning and fearful. Katniss couldn't make eye contact with him._ _

__"I take it you still keep all your unfinished work in the same place?" Gale asked her as he opened a desk drawer. "Here we go" he said looking through a file of papers that Katniss knew contained all her preliminary notes. Gale started to leaf through them as Katniss tried to grab the file from him. "Ah," he said, a cold smile appearing on his face as he twisted away from Katniss to keep the file from her reach. "You ought to find this one of particular interest."_ _

__He shoved the file at Peeta, and as he did so Katniss caught a glimpse of the particular page it was open on; the mugshot describing Peeta's arrest all those years ago. Katniss noticed all the colour drain from his face in an instant. "I… I don't understand," he said quietly._ _

__"Keep reading," Gale said, sarcasm dripping on his every word. "I'm sure your brain will catch up eventually."_ _

__He flicked through the file, his eyes scanning quickly over every page, and the more he read, the more he began shaking with the effort of holding back tears._ _

__"Peeta, I-"_ _

__"Don't," he said quietly. "Just don't."_ _

__"I didn't mean for this to happen…." She pleaded._ _

__"But it has." He gently closed the file and wiped his eyes on the back of his hands. Without another word or even a glance at Katniss he turned and walked out of the room. He opened Katniss' bedroom door and grabbed his rucksack and swung it over his shoulder, tucking the file under his arm._ _

__"Peeta, please don't go. We need to talk. I'm not doing that story, I promise. Please…."_ _

__He seemed either unable or entirely unwilling to speak and walked straight past her fumbling a little with the catch on her front door before walking as fast as he was able downstairs. Katniss followed behind him, calling after him with every step but he didn't look back once. Outside he paused in front of his car as he rummaged through his bag for his keys, pulling them out with shaking hands moments later. He unlocked the car and threw his rucksack on to the back seat, then looked down at the file in his arms as if unsure what to do with it. As he tossed it carelessly on the passenger seat next to him, he drew a great, heaving and ragged breath, wiping his hands down over his face again. Spying her opportunity, Katniss ran to him and placed a hand on his arm. "Peeta, please, we have to talk…."_ _

__He swallowed heavily and shook his head, climbing in to his car and slamming the door closed behind him. She immediately tried to open the car door but he had locked it._ _

__As the engine started Katniss felt her last chance slipping away. He put the car into reverse and backed out of the parking bay, and Katniss watched completely helpless as he turned out on to the road and sped away from her life._ _


	17. Chapter 16 - Peeta

Peeta had no recollection of driving back from London. He recalled getting in his car, and he could remember the feeling of his heart pounding in his ears. He could vaguely remember seeing Katniss in his rear view mirror as he pulled away. It looked like she was shouting after him but he couldn't remember hearing any sound, other than that of his own blood pumping. He must have driven the entire journey on automatic pilot because his first memory after leaving Katniss had been pulling up in to his drive. He had unlocked his front door and gone straight upstairs, ignoring Finnick questioningly calling after him. Finally he had fallen on his bed, staring at the wall, unmoving, and it wasn't until Annie had opened his bedroom door, sat wordlessly beside him and started to stroke his hair that he had begun to cry in earnest.

He cried until there were no tears left to fall, until he was left with just an empty, hollow feeling. A notion of betrayal started to fill him. She had lied to him from the beginning, that was bad enough, but he thought about the other people who were in that file. Some people he knew, others he didn't. Thresh was in that file; would she have done this to him if Thresh hadn't been so suspicious? Or any number of the other activists she had notes on? Would she have worked her way in to their beds and their hearts if she had spoken to them first? Why him? Why had she chosen him out of all of them? Was it because, like Thresh had warned, she had shown him the slightest interest and he had latched on to that fact? She must have been able to see him coming from a mile away….

Maybe he wasn't the first…. Maybe she had already worked her way through many of the people she had on file…. Maybe she had already moved onto the next one….

The hollow feeling mutated in to anger. He pushed Annie's hand away from him and sat up straight, shaking with fury at the injustice. How much of it was faked? All of it? He should have known; of course she wasn't truly interested in him, why on Earth would she have shown a genuine interest in him?

He had to get away from this bed that he'd shared with her. A primal, guttural sound escaped his lips as he swore over and over again. His rage transported him back downstairs, pushing Finnick aside in his haste to get past. With no clear idea of what he was doing or where he was going he found himself in his kitchen, his eyes alighting on the table. The memory of them fucking there tore through his heart and he kicked out at one of the chairs sending it flying across the room. Belle was barking loudly, and he was aware of two of the cats speeding past him in fear. Finnick's voice broke through his conscious; his hand alighted on Peeta's shoulder as he said, "Peet, will you please calm the fuck down?" Roughly shrugging him away he barged past again and stomped into his living room. He looked at his couch, where they had fucked for the very first time, and he noticed the spot on the floor where she had sat as he drew her. Swearing loudly again he pulled his sketchbooks away from his bookshelf, hastily flicking through them until he found the page he was after; the charcoal drawing he had done of Katniss. The beauty of her seemed to mock him and he ripped the page from the book, tearing it in half and in half again.

"Peeta, don't." Annie's voice reached him this time, seemingly coming from miles away. He felt her gentle touch on his arm but he couldn't cope with kindness. He walked away from her and stood behind his old armchair, his knuckles white as he gripped the back tightly, trying to get his breathing back under control. After an age his anger slowly ebbed away, only to once again be replaced by sorrow as he bent over the back, shaking with the effort of keeping his tears silent.

Shortly after he was able to hear raised voices; Finn and Annie outside the living room. He could hear Finn's exasperated words as clear as day. "I can't go through this again, Annie, I just can't!" It had taken all the effort in the world to lift his head from the back of his armchair, but he had stumbled out to them, unable to focus on anything through the curtain of tears and apologised for being a burden. There had been a moment of silence before Finnick had pulled him in to a hug. "You're not a burden," he had said firmly. "You're not."

The next few days were a blur as he turned to the bottle to blot out the world. He had started drinking coffee in the mornings, something he had never really done before, but he would temper the coffee with a shot of whisky. He started keeping a bottle near by from which he would sporadically swig as he tended the animals. By mid-afternoon he would be half-cut, and by evening he was paralytic and lucky to make it upstairs to bed.

She was constantly at the forefront of his mind. When he wasn't busy she filled his every waking thought, and despite himself he couldn't help but wonder what she was doing. Whether she was happy. If she was thinking of him as much as he was of her. And even though his heart hurt every single time he thought of her, he had to admit to himself that the time he had spent with her had been the happiest he had felt in as long as he could remember.

It was Annie that brought him back and gave him hope. She and Finnick had stopped over one evening to check on him and found him slumped over the kitchen table staring in to the bottom of a glass of Jack Daniels.

"I've been thinking, Peeta," she said, crouching down next to him and placing her hand on the side of his face so he would look at her. "Maybe how and why you met her isn't important. Perhaps all that matters is that you met."

The words resonated in him. The time he had spent with Katniss felt so right, so natural that he couldn't believe it had been entirely fabricated on her part. But he had to know for certain. And so he had arranged with Finn and Annie that on the next day they were free to look after everyone he would travel to London to confront her.

And so it was that he found himself on a London bound train. In a blind panic over what he would discover the following day he had, against the advice of his friends, drunk himself to sleep and was still clearly over the limit the following morning. As a result Annie had confiscated his car keys, forcing him to take public transport. He took his seat and gazed out of the window. In the past week and a half the weather had changed. The summer, like all typical English summers, had been fleeting and transient, the once seemingly endless sunshine giving way to cloudy skies and sporadic storms.

He hadn't telephoned Katniss to let her know he was coming. He needed to talk to her but he wanted, no, he _had_ to do it face to face.

His hangover began to kick in when he was about twenty minutes outside of London, a sharp pounding behind his eyes coupled with severe thirst and extreme nausea. Taking deep calming breaths he sat back in his seat, closed his eyes and tried to focus on staying upright.

The nausea intensified as his train pulled in to Liverpool Street Station. He stumbled blindly down the length of the platform recalling with sadness the butterflies he had felt last time he was here after meeting Katniss for the first time. He had started to fall for her already, for a woman who didn't exist…

He sought out a Costa's stand and bought a large tea before he was able to carry on, trying desperately to get his pounding head under control. The last thing he needed before going underground was a hangover headache. He sat for a while on a bench, sipping at the oversized tea, watching the world go past, until he was forced to admit to himself that he was procrastinating and he hauled himself to his feet. As he finally descended towards the underground his legs felt as though lead weights had been tied to them. Other tourists, commuters and people generally going about their daily lives bumped and jostled in to him, doing little to settle the rising unease in his stomach.

He checked and rechecked his route. Central Line one stop to Bank. Change for the Northern Line. Fourteen more stops to his final destination. In a little under an hour he would be at Katniss' flat. He felt a little dizzy at the realisation.

As always the trains were overcrowded, and he wasn't able to get a seat until the mass exodus at King's Cross station by which time his hangover was back in full swing. He sat hunched over, not making eye contact with anyone, concentrating solely on breathing and not emptying the contents of his stomach all over the carriage floor.

The train came above ground at East Finchley, with only four more stops to go. The heavens had opened at last, the rain careening down on the top of the train carriage, causing his head to pound even harder with each echoing drop. Peeta realised with a slight sinking feeling that he hadn't brought an extra layer with him. He was going to get soaked. Time seemed to slow down as he got closer and closer. Three stops to go and his heart rate rapidly picked up. Two stops and the world outside took on an eerie, unreal quality, as if he were still asleep. One stop and he could hardly breathe. And the train pulled in to Woodside Park at last.

The rain was torrential and he was drenched to the bone just seconds after stepping off the train. He felt as if he were in a dream, not in control of his own actions as his body began to tread the path to Katniss' home. The nausea that he had just about got back under control returned with a vengeance and he had to pause, leaning against a lamp post until his stomach felt strong enough to continue.

In the distance he could hear a growing rumble, and in response the rain came down even heavier, the skies darkening with each moment.

When Katniss' flat came in to view he paused again and very nearly made the decision to turn around, get back on the tube and go home, but a flash in the sky, followed shortly after by a loud crash gave him cause to press forward.

His finger hovered over the bell for her flat. His mouth had gone dry and his heart was racing as he took himself by surprise, falling against the buzzer.

Moments later her voice, cracking with static, came across the intercom. "Hello?"

"Katniss?"

A pause. Only a second but lasting an eternity. "Peeta?"

"Katniss, I…. I have to see you."

Silence. He waited for the buzz of the door that signalled that she had allowed him entry. More silence. He tried the door. Locked. Silence.

His heart shattered with the rejection. He turned away from the front door and looked up in to the sky. Another flash followed almost immediately by the loudest crash yet. The pouring rain mingled with his tears; one became indistinguishable from the other. He took a few steps away when he heard her voice again.

"Peeta?"

He spun on the spot and there she was, framed in the portal of her doorway. His heart stopped at the sight of her.

"Peeta, what are you doing?"

"I had to see you."

"Why didn't you call?"

"I had to do this face to face."

She looked up at the sky, at the rain pouring down on him. "Peeta, come in out of the rain."

"Not until we've talked," he answered. In his head he'd had this all planned, every last word, but now that she was here in front of him he found that his words were failing him. He was lost in the sight of her; his eyes greedily took in every detail, as if she were his tether to life. Finally he spoke. "I just need to know, Katniss, was any of it real? Because if it wasn't, I'll walk away right now and I promise I won't bother you again. I'll go home, I'll try and get on with my life, I'll try and forget you. But if any of it was real, any of it at all, I need to know."

She stepped out of the doorway in to the rain, her hand reaching up to push the dripping wet curls out of his eyes. "Ask me again," she said softly.

There was so much to ask, so much that he needed her to clarify, but he had no idea where to begin so decided to start with the broadest question. "Everything you told me was a lie."

"Not real. Not everything."

A tiny spark of hope ignited inside him. He just had to narrow it down. "You're a writer."

"Real."

He nodded. He knew that much already. "But you were never interested in animal rights."

He watched as she swallowed and looked away from him, the rain clinging to her eyelashes. She quickly blinked away the droplets and said, "Real. At first. But I've changed, Peeta. You've helped with that. I promise you I'm not doing that story. I couldn't do that after everything I saw."

"You're vegetarian."

"I'm sorry. Not real. At least at first. But again, I'm changing, Peeta, and it's thanks to you. Don't give up on me. Please."

He looked down at his feet to avoid eye contact with her, at the canvas of his trainers that were completely soaked through, meaning his right foot was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. There was one thing he had to know before he continued. "You did this to other people too."

"Not real!" she protested, looking highly affronted. "Of course not!"

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "My imagination's been torturing me, and I…. I'm sorry."

"Ask me another."

Another rumble of thunder overhead. "You like me."

She stepped a little closer. "Real."

His heart skipped a beat. "I make you happy."

She laughed a little. "Mostly real. This last week or so not so much."

He shared in her nervous laughter. "I know how that feels." Taking a deep breath, he continued. "You think we shared something special. And you've missed me this last week. Really missed me."

"Real and real." She came even closer, laying her palm flat on his chest, causing his heart to pound harder than ever.

His mouth had gone completely dry, "You want to give us another go. To start again and try and make something of all this."

"Real."

The effect on him was immediate. Half tears, half laughter, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. He buried his face in the crook of her neck switching between sobbing and chuckling. "You didn't try to call me," he choked out.

"I didn't think you'd want me to," she replied, her own tears starting to flow. "When you left you looked like you hated me. And besides, you didn't try to call me either."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I ran from you. I'm sorry I didn't call you. I'm an idiot and I'm sorry."

"Stop it. You shouldn't be apologising to me."

"Ok. I'm sorry."

"I said stop!" she said, half amused, half crying. "It's me that should say it. I'm sorry I deceived you, Peeta. Truly I am."

They held each other in the rain, silently shaking, until they were brought to their senses by another crack of lightening and a rumble of thunder.

"Do you want to come inside?" she called out over the sound of the pouring rain.

He nodded and their fingertips found each other, their hands interlocking as she led him upstairs. It felt like a whole lifetime ago that he had last been here; he couldn't quite believe it had only been eleven days. He followed her in to her living room, where Jo was sat on the couch in her pyjamas, watching television, feet tucked in, cradling a mug of hot chocolate. As Peeta entered the room she looked up, her eyes darting between the two of them. "Well," she said at last. "I don't think I'm needed at this party." She took her mug of cocoa and stalked off to her bedroom.

"Please, sit down," Katniss said, gesturing to her couch once they were alone.

Peeta shook his head. "I can't, I'll ruin your furniture."

Katniss rolled her eyes at him. "Do you want some dry clothes?"

A small smile crept across his lips. "If you're trying to pay me back for making you wear my things, I appreciate the gesture but-"

"You left some clothes here. You left in such a hurry that you didn't pick everything up. Don't worry, I'm not trying to dress you like me."

"Look, Katniss. I can't really stay long, and-"

"Why not?"

"Because I only bought a cheap day return and I can't aff-"

"Why didn't you drive?"

He felt his face grow hot under her scrutiny. "I was still drunk when I woke up this morning."

"I thought you looked rough."

"Thanks. I haven't really bothered shaving since…." He fell silent, unable to finish his sentence.

"I wasn't talking about that, which suits you by the way. So can I get you that change of clothes?"

He floundered once again. "I really can't afford to get another ticket tomorrow."

Taking a deep sigh she said, "I wasn't asking you to stay the night. But you're dripping wet, you're leaving water all over my carpet, and you're going to get ill if you stand around in those wet clothes. And they're yours anyway so please, stop punishing yourself for my behaviour."

He nodded and she left him alone briefly, returning moments later with a neatly folded pair of jeans and a t-shirt; the very clothes that she had helped tear from him in a fit of passion when they had returned from the restaurant. A lump appeared in his throat at the memories and he fought hard to blink back tears.

He wordlessly took the clothes from her and found himself in her bathroom, catching sight of himself in the mirror as he peeled off the sopping wet t-shirt. He barely recognised the man in the mirror; his eyes were red and puffy, his skin haggard and even paler than usual, the scruff on his face unkempt. He picked up a hand towel and dragged it roughly over his face and hair before pulling on the dry t-shirt. His heart skipped a beat; it smelled of her. Losing himself in her scent, he allowed his eyes to flutter closed as he felt a familiar stirring starting deep in his belly.

Ignoring the butterflies that threatened to overwhelm him, he kicked off his shoes as quickly as he could then pulled off his wet jeans, perching on the side of the bath as the heavy fabric stuck to his skin. He breathed a small sigh of relief as he dressed in the warm, dry clothes. When he felt ready to confront her again he opened the bathroom door and was greeted by the sight of Katniss carrying a large mug of steaming hot tea. "You left that unopened carton of milk here too. I thought you'd appreciate this."

"Thank you," he said, cradling the mug gratefully. "You have no idea." He realised that despite her insistence that he change out of his wet clothes she still hadn't done the same. "Don't you want to get changed?"

"I'll be fine. My home, my rules. In here it's do as I say, not as I do. Anyway, come on," she said. "Let's talk."

He sat in the armchair while she took a seat on the couch, tucking her feet up beside her. "So," she said at last.

"So."

"We have a lot to talk about, I guess."

He nodded. They did indeed, but he had no idea where to start. "What were you trying to prove?" he asked eventually, his voice unusually timid.

She shrugged. "I don't know, Peeta. This is what I do. I expose people. Criminals."

"We're not criminals," he said desperately.

"I know that now," she replied. "I didn't then." She became overly interested in a piece of fluff attached to the couch to avoid looking at him. "I write those grittier pieces under a pseudonym. Marianne Jay. I hadn't done one in a while and I guess…." She gave up on picking at the fluff, sighed and twisted the end of her braid round her fingers. "I guess your group was an easy target."

"Why me?" he asked, the question he needed to know most falling from his lips. "Out of everyone, why me?"

"Convenience, at first. I'm sorry to say it, but it's true. I needed to get close to someone and the opportunity was there. But… I recognised you too, and you, I don't know, you intrigued me."

"I intrigued you?" he repeated, carefully tasting each word.

"Yes," she answered. "I didn't understand it at first. But I couldn't stop thinking about you. I tried to convince myself it was just as a subject but as time went on… that intrigue grew into something else." After a moment's pause she continued. "You know, I was terrified of you at first."

"Why?"

"I recognised you before we even met," she confessed, her cheeks growing red from the admission. "From the information I'd gathered on you. And I was worried you'd know who I was. But that still didn't stop me wanting to know more about you. To get closer to you."

"Again, why?"

She looked around as if desperately hoping the answer was hovering in the air in front of her, ready to be plucked out. "Because, Peeta. Because I liked you but had no idea of it myself. I didn't understand how I felt, I ignored it, I convinced myself I was imagining my own feelings."

"Lying to me is one thing, Katniss. Lying to yourself is just plain stupid."

"I know, alright! I know! I'm stupid, and deceitful and not a good person at all and-"

"Stop," he interrupted. "Please, stop."

"I'm sorry. I just think that now the truth has been forced out I may as well be entirely honest."

He shook his head and ignored her self-denigration. Something else was nagging at him, something he needed to clear up. "Would you ever have told me the truth of your own accord?"

"Yes," she said and she sounded so sincere that Peeta had no reason to doubt her. "I already tried to, that night after-"

"After I drew you," he finished for her, remembering her tears, and how she had said that she didn't deserve him. He hadn't understood why she was so upset at the time. It all seemed pretty clear now.

"Exactly," she confirmed. She became interested in picking at the piece of fluff on the couch once more. "Look, Peeta," she said, looking up at him again. "I'm sorry. I really am. I never wanted to hurt you. I wish I could change what happened."

A frown creased Peeta's brow. "Do you mean you wish your friend hadn't sold you out?"

"No!" she protested. "I should have done it myself. I mean I just wish I could change how it happened. I'm so sorry for Gale's behaviour. I don't know why he reacted that way. He isn't normally so…" she looked around for the right word.

"So much of an arsehole?"

She smiled tightly. "I guess. But you were hardly blameless."

"I was just standing up for myself," he objected.

"I know," she replied, her voice weary. "But Gale's like my big brother. He thought you were trying to change me, trying to brainwash me."

"Brainwashing?" he said, his voice becoming heated. "Don't make me laugh. Tell him from me to turn on the TV and find an ad break. If there's a single advert for tofu or kale or soy milk, we'll talk. If, as I suspect, it's adverts for fast food, meat, eggs, dairy, followed by ads for indigestion remedies, constipation aids, weight loss, vitamins, cosmetics tested on animals, leather shoes followed by more ads for fast food then maybe he should reconsider who's the brainwashed one."

"I'm not telling him anything, Peeta," she sighed. "And I'd like to keep both of you in my life so please, if, no, _when_ you meet him again, will you please try and be, if not friendly, then at least civilised?"

"It depends on him."

"He already knows how I feel and I've never seen him more apologetic. He knows he was a jerk. So please, Peeta? For me?"

He took in the plaintive look on her face and immediately felt the heat of his anger dissipating. "Of course," he said quietly. He leant back in the armchair and looked at the ceiling. "I guess I should thank him, really."

"What for?"

"Because of what he did, here we are now. No secrets from now on, no more pretending."

"And no more insecurities?"

Could he guarantee such a promise? Probably not, but he would have to try. "No more insecurities."

She stood up slowly and made her way over to him, bending down and capturing his lips in the softest kiss he had ever experienced. "Do you forgive me?" she whispered.  
He nodded and brought his hand up to cradle her head, drawing her back to him. That kiss…he had never felt a kiss like it and he wanted to recreate it. Her lips tasted sugary and sweet, and he ran the tip of his tongue along them, tasting the sweetness. One of her hands rested against his chest, the other cupped the side of his face. She pressed her lips further into him, her tongue probing his own gently at first then with more force, with a hungry desperation as if their contact was all that was keeping them both alive. He wanted to resist, to keep it slow but his heart beat faster and he found himself yielding to her, drowning in her kisses, returning her passion tenfold. He pulled her into his lap, pressing every inch of his body into hers, their mouths and tongues dancing together until he was dizzy and breathless.

They both gasped for air as she pulled away from him for a moment. "Is it too soon to entice you into my bed?"

"Maybe," he said, as she rested her head on his shoulder, the shift in her weight making her grind against his erection as she got comfortable. "But that's not to say I'd refuse if you asked me."

"Really?" she asked looking up at him.

Peeta gazed down at her shining grey eyes and allowed himself a small chuckle at her hopefulness. "Katniss, I have the most beautiful woman I've ever seen offering me a place in her bed. What do you think I'm going to say?"

"I thought you'd want to hold out on me longer. Where's your willpower?"

She shifted against him once again; there was absolutely no way she couldn't feel his erection through their clothing. "It's pretty much all right there," he answered with a nod to his crotch, causing Katniss to burst into laughter.

"Look, Peeta," she said, trying to calm her laughter, before standing up in front of him. "I'm not going to force you in to anything you don't want. But I would like you to know that I'm going to my room. These wet clothes aren't comfortable so I'm going to be getting changed out of them. It's entirely up to you what you do with that knowledge, and I won't be offended either way."

She kissed him once more before turning away and sweeping from the room. Peeta leant forward, his elbows on his knees, and pushed his still damp hair from his face. His mind was made up in an instant. There was no way he could refuse such an offer.

Taking a deep breath, and using the opportunity to convince himself that he was doing the right thing, he stood up and strode down the hall after her. Without pause he opened the door to her room, his breath catching in his throat at what he saw.

She had her back to him and was already half undressed, down to her underwear. He admired the curve of her backside as the cotton briefs she wore clung to them, entirely failing to supress a smile at the Wonder Woman logo printed across them. Her olive skin formed a perfect contrast with the white cotton of her bra, cutting a swathe across the expanse of her back.

She turned on the spot to see him admiring her, and a shy smile appeared on her face. "I can't tell you how relieved I am that you came in."

"How could I have possibly resisted?"

"I'm sorry I'm not exactly dressed as your fantasy. Not like last time."

"You're kidding me, right? Look at you. You're perfect."

"I'm really not, Peeta. I think we've proven that." Her eyes trailed to the floor and Peeta stepped forward to comfort her.

"In that case I'm hardly perfect either. So maybe we're perfect for each other."

His words caused a small smile to lift the corners of her mouth and she stepped into his waiting arms. Her skin was slightly damp to the touch and she sighed as he ran his fingers down across her back.

"I really can't apologise enough to you," she said, her words slightly muffled as she leant so close in to his body. "But maybe actions can speak louder than words."

Peeta's eyes fluttered closed as he felt one set of finger tips moving up his back to cradle his head while the other set moved lower. She pulled the back of his t-shirt up, running her hand across the expanse of his lower back, dipping her fingers just inside the waistband of his jeans. Her lips barely touched his before she pulled away from him and brought her mouth close to his ear, briefly sucking on the lobe before whispering, "What do you want, Peeta?"

"You," he answered.

The exasperated sigh that fell past her lips gave him cause to smirk. "I know that much," she replied. "But I'm all yours. In any way you want."

His heart began to race as image after image flashed through his mind. This reunion had to be perfect, and the more he thought on what he wanted, the more he came to realise that no matter what happened it would be perfect, because together they couldn't be anything but. "Let's just see what happens," he said gently as he brushed a few loose strands of hair away from her eyes and sat on the edge of the bed, manoeuvring her to stand between his legs before placing several kisses along her abdomen. Her muscles tensed slightly under his lips as her hands came to rest on his shoulders. She crouched down in front of him, trailing her fingers down his torso as she did so before pulling at the hem of his t-shirt. He lifted his arms above his head and she pulled the shirt off him, then leaned in towards him, placing an open kiss on the tattoo above his heart. The close contact caused his pulse to quicken even further and his eyes fell closed as her tongue began to lathe the skin. He needed to feel her lips against his once more. "Katniss?"

She looked up at him, her grey eyes sparkling, and understood immediately. Kneeling in front of him, she parted her lips and tilted her head in towards him. Peeta met her halfway, pressing his lips to hers just as a tiny groan of ecstasy escaped the back of his throat. She became encouraged by the noises he made, winding her fingers into his hair and holding him tight and steady, as she flicked her tongue along his bottom lip. His hands splayed out across her back, drawing her even closer towards him so that their bodies became almost as one. Taking control of the kiss he gently pressed his tongue against hers and in response she parted her lips further, echoing the little moans of pleasure coming from him.

His whole body ached for her. All the hurt, all the desperation, all the confusion and heartache that he had been storing inside himself since he had last seen her needed to be released. He broke apart from her momentarily, totally breathless. "Katniss," he gasped. "Can we…?"

She held his gaze for a moment, nodding slightly before she turned her attention to the button fly on his jeans, pulling them apart one at a time. He lifted his hips and she pulled his jeans and boxer briefs off him before kneeling down in front of him. There was undisguised lust in her eyes as she took in the sight of his erection. Licking her lips once she lowered her mouth to him, swirling her tongue around the head.

"Shit," he hissed. This wasn't what he wanted at all… As heavenly as her mouth felt on him he desperately wanted to be inside her. "Wait…" he said desperately. But Katniss seemed to have other ideas. She licked down the entire length of his shaft before wrapping her hand around him, and placing her lips over the head again, hollowing her cheeks and sucking hard. "Please!" he begged her. "I need you!"

She released her hold on him with a wet popping sound and stayed kneeling before him, her hands on his thighs. "Now?" she asked him. He nodded his affirmation. "Sit back a little further," she purred, and as he did so she stepped out of her underwear and quickly reached behind her back to undo the clasp of her bra.

Once naked she straddled him, and Peeta couldn't help the groan that escaped his lips as she guided him into her, as their bodies pressed together intimately. He was thankful that she paused for a moment as she reacclimatised herself to the feel of him, as he wanted this moment to last forever. He wrapped one arm around her waist and brought the other up her back, resting his hand on top of her shoulder, so that he could pull her down further on to him and bring their bodies even closer together. Very slowly he began to roll his hips up towards her as he felt her thighs gently squeeze him before she too began to rock over him. Her hands seemed to be everywhere all at once; weaving in to his hair, exploring his back, stroking the side of his face, holding his head steady as she dipped down to capture his mouth in a passionate kiss.

He lost all concept of time and place. Nothing existed outside the two of them, nothing else in the world mattered except the woman in front of him. She broke away from his kiss and sat up straighter, placing her hands on top of his shoulders, and as she did Peeta's eyes were drawn to her breasts. He ducked his head towards her, drawing one dusky nipple in his mouth causing her to call out his name and arch her back as she lost all sense of herself. He gave her other nipple equal attention, sucking and gently nibbling on the small nub of hardened flesh, thrusting his hips up into her as he did.

She pushed his mouth away from her breasts, cupped his face and began to rock in to him faster than before. Watching her writhe so wantonly on top of him was pushing him dangerously close to the edge. He could feel the pressure in his balls increase in intensity, but he wanted to make her come first. "Katniss," he gasped before it was too late. "If you keep this up I'm going to come really soon."

"Good," she said as she peppered his neck with kisses, sucking on his pulse point.

"But, Katniss-" he began before she cut him off with a firm kiss on his lips.

"Shhh, Peeta. I want to make you happy."

At her words every muscle in his body became taut, as his orgasm began to rise up through him. He crested the wave, pulling her down on to him hard, as she became the only real thing in the world. She caught his cries in her mouth as she twisted the curls at the nape of his neck round and round in her fingers. As the relentless waves of his orgasm began to subside he fell back on the bed, his legs still dangling over the edge and Katniss still sat over him. "Thank you," he whispered to her. "Thank you."

She climbed off him and lay down on the bed beside him. He put his arm out and she took the cue to curl into him, resting her head on his chest. "Are you ok?" she asked.

"More than ok," he replied dreamily.

She idly trailed her fingertips across his stomach. "Me too. This certainly isn't how I envisioned spending today."

"Me neither if I'm honest."

"No?"

"No. This is the definite best case scenario. I kept picturing the worst."

"Really" she asked, leaning up on her elbow.

"Yup," he replied, tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ear. "I didn't think you'd see me at all. I thought I'd be on my train home by now."

"Well, I'm glad I proved you wrong."

"Me too," he said, a sleepy smile on his face. He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her back in to his chest. A wonderful feeling of contentment washed over him as he placed several kisses on the top of her head. "Can I make you happy?"

"Maybe later," she replied.

"But I can't stay long…."

"Why not?"

He held her a little tighter, pausing just slightly before he spoke. "I wish I could, but I have to get a train back today."

"So you've said."

"Well then," he said, leaning in to her and starting to stroke along her back, making her squirm.

"That tickles!" she giggled, curling in to him even further. At that moment, the storm, which seemed to have passed, returned with a vengeance, a huge crash of thunder shaking the room. Both Katniss and Peeta stared at the window for a moment as the rain started to fall even heavier. "You sure you want to head back out in to this?"

"I never said I _wanted_ to head out in it," he said, but his voice clearly betrayed his nervousness.

"Then stay here tonight."

"I can't," he sighed. "I wish I could but I can't."

"What if I promise to buy you dinner again? And more sex?"

A whimpering noise escaped the back of his throat. "You're not playing fair," he said, as he seriously considered the offer.

"Then what's stopping you?"

"My usual, Katniss. My ticket's only for today, and I can't afford to buy another tomorrow."

A flash of lightening lit up the room, followed almost immediately by yet another room shaking crash of thunder.

"Can I ask you a question?" she said, staring out of the window. "The way you asked me earlier?"

"Sure."

"You're actually trying to get away from me, and this whole 'I need to get back today' shebang is just a front."

He couldn't help but laugh slightly. "Absolutely not real," he said, pulling her closer.

"Ok. So if there was a way for you to stay, you'd take it."

"Definitely real," he replied.

"That's good to know," she said.

He looked at his watch as the rain beat a heavy tattoo against the window pane. Time was making fools of them both as always, but with the spark between them reignited there was one final question he had to ask her. "One more thing, Katniss, that I just have to know."

"Go ahead."

"You think that possibly… in time… you could grow to love me."

She paused before answering, and Peeta felt as though the world stopped in those few moments. Her eyes met his and the corners of her mouth turned up in a small smile. "Real."

Tears immediately sprang to his eyes as their lips met. The security and joy of knowing that he was wanted, that he was _needed_ by another person, was overwhelming, and he couldn't help but laugh as he kissed her.

"What's wrong with you?" Katniss chuckled. Peeta's jubilance was clearly contagious.

"Nothing," he replied, and he meant it in the most literal sense. "Nothing's wrong."

They lay together listening to the sounds of the raging storm outside, content to just be in each other's presence. Peeta felt so incredibly comfortable and relaxed even with the ill-effects of his over indulgence from the previous night. His eyes closed and his breath deepened as the girl on his chest nuzzled closer in to him. Everything was perfect. Just perfect….

"Peeta?" Her gentle voice broke through his conscious and his eyes flew open.

"Whu-?" In confusion he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around. The sky visible through the window was even darker. "Shit," he said, sitting up in a panic. How much time had they lost?

"Calm down, it's not too late."

He checked his watch. It was after seven p.m. which was late enough. As he sat up his stomach gnawed uncomfortably at him, but he ignored it and began to redress. "I shouldn't have fallen asleep," he said. "Even if I could afford to buy a ticket in the morning, Finn and Annie only had today free, so I'll need to look after everyone tomorrow…"

"It's ok," she said soothingly. "You've still got plenty of time."

He took in her look of disappointment as he pulled on his jeans, a feeling that was echoing throughout him as well. She reluctantly began to dress as well, looking up when his stomach growled particularly loudly. "Are you going to be ok travelling? Do you want anything before you go?"

"Maybe one more tea? And some toast?"

She nodded and left him to finish getting dressed, as a melancholy washed over him. Their time together, although it had exceeded his wildest expectations, had ended far too soon. With a sad smile he pulled on his t-shirt and went to join her.

He could hear her chatting excitedly to Johanna in their adjacent kitchenette, their voices stopping abruptly as they heard him enter the living room. Moments later Katniss appeared carrying a steaming tea and two slices of toast and jam. "Is this all you want?" she asked.

"It's perfect, thank you," he said, devouring one of the slices before he had even sat down.

"Is there nothing I can do to convince you to stay?"

"My animals need me, Katniss," he answered with a sad smile.

"I was meaning to ask you, how are the new hens?"

"Good," he replied. "They've got new feathers growing every day, and they're putting on weight. I'm really happy with their progress. Still haven't got a new coop sorted for them but I'm waiting on payment for a couple of commissions so hopefully soon."

"And… Peto and Katherine? How are they doing?"

His smile widened. "Best of friends, as you predicted."

"I'm glad to hear it," she said, grinning. "May they have long and happy lives together."

The insinuation warmed him right through his heart, making his inevitable departure even harder. There was no point putting it off any longer. He quickly finished the other slice of toast and downed the hot cup of tea. He didn't want to go, he wanted to stay more than anything, but he had no choice in the matter. Katniss stood up and held her arms out to him. "Come here," she said gently.

He stood up and crossed over to her, losing himself in her embrace. As he held her close he heard a familiar sound. It started with a clock ticking, then the syncopated tick-tock of many more. He looked up and the sight on the TV caused him to chuckle as a camera panned across a wall completely covered in even more clocks.

"What is it?" she asked.

" _Back to the Future_ ," he replied, nodding towards the TV. "It's just starting. This was supposed to be our first ever date, remember? We never did have that film night you promised me."

"We could have it now?" she suggested.

"Katniss-"

"Shut up and listen to me," Katniss said, taking him by surprise. "I'll drive you home in the morning if I have to."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course I would. I don't want to turf you out in this weather. And to sweeten the deal my offer of buying you dinner again still stands."

Peeta looked out the window at the rain still falling. It certainly was a tempting offer…. "I'd have to get back early tomorrow. Really early," he said thoughtfully.

"Then you can get me up at stupid o'clock when you wake up, and we'll get back early. What do you say? Please? Stay with me?"

Her eyes were wide as she pleaded with him and the sight caused his heart to melt. As he placed a kiss on top of her head, he knew that he was a lost cause. He had been from the moment he laid eyes on her. Of course he would stay. If she asked it of him he would stay by her side forever. "Always."

She grinned and hopped on the couch, indicating for him to join her. He sat down beside her and as she snuggled in to him he was struck by the realisation that the future no longer felt like something dark to dread, but more like an endless summer day, with a myriad of possibilities to embrace.

_Fin_


End file.
